Obama to Speak Post His Previously Scheduled Cabinet Meeting

Obama had a cabinet meeting on his schedule today at 4 pm eastern. But he didn't have a briefing with the press following the meeting. I'm certain he'll be addressing Stanley McChrystal's foolishness. I guess Obama and his cabinet will have a lot to talk about. Look for a live stream at msnbc.com some time after 4:30 pm eastern.

Obama's Cabinet Meeting on Oil Spill Video

Watch Obama's meeting with shrimpers here.

Obama Talks About His Cabinet

Another in a behind-the-scenes-at-the-White-House videos. This would also be a great video for teachers. The first Cabinet meeting was in 1793 and four cabinet members were present. Now there are 25. Cabinet meetings are the one time when the Secret Service allows all of the cabinet members to be in one place at the same time.
Who knew all these things about the Cabinet? Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu narrates:

Obama and Staff Game of Hoops

Game night:

In the evening, the President will play basketball with Cabinet Secretaries and Members of Congress on the White House basketball court. Expected attendees include:
Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
Representative Mike Arcuri (D-NY)
Representative John Boccieri (D-OH)
Representative Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Representative Baron Hill (D-IN)
Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Representative Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA)
Representative John Shimkus (R-IL)
Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC)
Lynn Sweet

Obama's News Conference on Cabinet Meeting Video

Sandwiched between Hillary and Robert Gates, Obama talked about his challenge to the cabinet to cut $100 million in 90 days. People were wondering today whether this was a PR stunt or the first of an ongoing government overhaul. My bet is that this is the first step in an overhaul. Obama's got enough PR.
There's so much change--for the better-- coming it's going to start making republican heads pop off.

Transcript

Obama Challenges Cabinet to Cut $100 Million

Obama's meeting with his full Cabinet for the first time at 11:30 am to issue a challenge to cut $100 million in the next 90 days.
From Politico:

Examples of savings that agencies have begun to implement already that the president will point to during the 11:30 a.m. meeting: The Department of Veterans Affairs has cancelled or delayed 26 conferences, saving nearly $17.8 million. The department will be using less expensive alternatives, like video conferencing. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working to combine 1,500 employees from seven office locations into a single facility in 2011, saving $62 million over a 15-year lease term. ... The Department of Homeland Security estimates that it can save up to $52 million over five years just by purchasing office supplies in bulk.

Tracking Obama's Cabinet Nominees

CQ Politics has a nice chart-y kind of thing.

Obama's Open Cabinet Positions

Update 12-16: Cabinet so far

Open positions:
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Housing & Urban Development
Secretary of Interior
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Veteran's Affairs

Obama Transition Staff Chart?

Check out this hierarchy chart from an unknown source. US News and World Report posted it. Al Gore is listed as Climate Czar. Colin Powell shows up as a potential cabinet member in a few spots. Caroline Kennedy is listed as a possible candidate under UN Ambassador. So is Susan Rice. Howard Dean is under Health and Human Services.
Who knows if it's a real working chart, though.
Obama's transition to cost $12 million:

Swamp: President-elect Barack Obama's transition planning will run about $12 million and employ 450 people.

"We recognize that we have only one president at a time,'' said John Podesta, Obama's co-chairman for transition planning, in a press briefing taking place now in Washington. "But President-elect Obama wants to ensure that we hit the ground running.''

Obama also will set new ethics standards, demanding that no one who enters his administration had worked as lobbyists for at least two years prior: "He wants to have the toughest rules that are going to stop the revolving door in Washington.''

Obama Speaks to Lugar

But it's not what you think. We're now in the midst of guess that cabinet member.

NYT: Aha! So maybe Mr. Obama really is considering Mr. Lugar for secretary of state, as many in Washington have been assuming. But wait. Mr. Lugar’s office said the conversation Monday had nothing at all to do with the Cabinet.

“It was not about secretary of state,” Andy Fisher, a Lugar spokesman, said in an e-mail message. “Lugar is not interested (as he explains repeatedly). Nothing about that position was discussed during the call. They discussed ways in which they will continue to work on a number of foreign policy fronts as Lugar continues his Republican foreign policy leadership in the Senate.”

The call to Mr. Lugar was one of three Mr. Obama made after visiting President Bush at the White House, then stopping for a private, 40-minute meeting at a fire station at the airport. Aides would not describe whom he met with. It’s a fair guess that he may have been meeting with a candidate for the Cabinet. But then again, that’s also just a guess.

Obama's adviser Valerie Jarrett says stop guessing. Meanwhile, the media is guessing what Jarrett will do. Some have said she'd replace Obama in the Senate. Emanuel has said she's a close adviser, which means Obama will probably want her in the White House.

CNN: Two Democratic sources close to President-elect Barack Obama tell CNN that top adviser Valerie Jarrett will not be appointed to replace him in the U.S. Senate.

"While he (Obama) thinks she would be a good senator, he wants her in the White House," one top Obama advisor told CNN Monday.

Over the weekend, Democratic sources had told CNN as well as Chicago television station WLS-TV that Jarrett was Obama's choice to fill his Senate seat.

Obama to Quickly Name More Cabinet Members

Aide Valerie Jarrett says the media is just guessing on who will be in Obama's cabinet so keep that in mind.

Politico: While most presidents-elect have waited until December to fill Cabinet jobs, Obama will name several before the end of November, according to aides.

Aides say no Cabinet picks will be named this week, although Obama may make some more White House staff announcements toward the end of the week. One of the first will be Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary. Obama also plans to name his White House counsel early in the process, advisers said.

Obama plans to challenge Congress to begin work on all four of his top four priorities — the economy, energy, health care and education, billing them all as “reforms” that will help struggling middle-class families.

At the top of the list are targeted tax cuts, energy legislation and small steps on health care, including more coverage for uninsured children.

The economy will come first. Obama and his staff have not set the order for his other priorities, although more than one will be in the pipeline at once.

Filling Obama's Cabinet

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama has no time to waste.

Two wars and a deepening financial crisis have raised expectations that he will quickly announce picks for senior government jobs after winning Tuesday's presidential election.

Obama, a Democrat who triumphed over Republican John McCain to become the first black U.S. president, has a transition operation well under way to enable him to unveil selections for positions such as Treasury secretary and secretary of state soon.

Illinois Democratic Rep. Rahm Emanuel has emerged as a strong contender for the crucial position of White House chief of staff and an announcement could come as early as Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter said.
....
Some analysts believe certain jobs, such as Treasury secretary, could be announced within days and speculation is already rife about several names.

The next Treasury secretary will inherit one of the hottest seats in Washington, faced both with guiding the $700 billion economic bailout package and the regulatory reform needed to prevent a repeat of the current crisis.

In an Obama administration, the short list for Treasury likely includes former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Other names:

Obama has also spoken favorably about investor Warren Buffett, while University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee and former Clinton White House aide Jason Furman are also important economic advisers to the incoming president.

Foreign policy possibilities:

For secretary of state, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, former diplomat Richard Holbrooke, outgoing Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel and former Georgia Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn are among the names in the mix.

James Steinberg, a former Clinton adviser, is a top contender for national security adviser. Susan Rice, another former Clinton aide, could be considered for that job or another senior post.

Cabinet will include republicans:

With wars under way in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama might consider keeping Robert Gates on as secretary of Defense. He might also consider tapping former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, a close adviser.

Obama's campaign is maintaining the utmost secrecy on planning for the transition, which will occur in the 11 weeks between November 4 and January 20, when he will be sworn in as successor to President George W. Bush.

Obama has said he had "some pretty good ideas" about people he might tap for senior jobs and that he would "absolutely" include Republicans in his Cabinet. read more

Update Nov. 6: more cabinet speculation

Speculating Obama's Cabinet

some interesting and great selections from ebonyjet's "fantasy draft." love richardson as chief of staff and colin powell as veep and susan rice as security advisor:

Secretary of Defense – Chuck Hagel
This puts a moderate Republican in charge of the war machine, giving some measure of political cover when Obama withdraws troops from Iraq or moves more forcefully on Bin Laden in Pakistan.

National Security Advisor – Susan Rice
She’d be a great Secretary of State or UN Ambassador, but Obama will get much less of a honeymoon than others and politics will dictate that he throw this bone to someone more known to the Senate and Congress to assure confirmation. Like Condi, she’ll move to the big spot in Obama’s second term.

Secretary of Transportation – Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
This rewards the Congressman for his work as a campaign chair and would be the formal “thank you” to Illinois. It allows Jackson to push his Peotone airport efforts and deliver public transportation pork to the state, further cementing his platform as future Mayor of Chicago. It also opens up a congressional seat for Jackson’s wife to step into.

Secretary of Commerce – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg’s knowledge of business and fondness for innovation makes him a great choice to shepherd American business into a more 21st century model for participating in the global economy. Give him the keys and let him run with it.

Attorney General – John Edwards
Trial lawyer. Champion of the little guy. A natural.

Department of Labor – Governor Ed Rendell
Another appeasement to Hillary supporters, this choice puts a man from a working class state in charge of symbolically carrying Clinton’s message about jobs.
more

fantasy draft 2

Vice President— Colin Powell
Forget about Hillary Clinton. She can’t be trusted to watch Obama’s back and besides—he’ll get two for the cost of one with hubby Bill attached to the deal. John Edwards looks good on camera but demonstrated as Kerry’s Veep that he’s not good at playing bad cop to the party nominee’s good cop; neither is Bill Richardson. Powell will make an unmistakable change statement for presidential nominee Obama. Selecting a Republican as his running mate would turn tradition on its head. The retired four-star general would cancel out John McCain’s military advantage. As a former presidential cabinet member for both Papa and Junior Bush, Powell was so popular among Republicans, independents and Reagan Democrats that many thought him a more viable candidate in 2000 than George W. I know this is out-of-the box thinking but Powell is basically a Republican by opportunity only and should be a welcomed addition to the other side of the aisle. Finally, for the nut jobs out there that might be planning an assassination attempt of the nation’s first African American Chief Executive, they’d be forced to think twice.

Chief of Staff—Gov. Bill Richardson
During the double-digit number of debates among the candidates for Democratic Party nomination for president, the governor of New Mexico demonstrated time and time again that he is both level-headed and a peace-maker. Richardson, who was one of the highest-ranking Hispanic appointees in President Clinton’s administration, brings the right blend of experience and respect to keep Obama’s White House in order.

Secretary of State—Sen. Joe Biden
At the risk of upsetting the balance of power in the senate, Obama will have to be frugal when it comes to recruiting for his cabinet among Democrats in the upper chamber. Fortunately, with the Republican brand in ruins, the Democrats should end up with enough new senate seats to offset Biden’s move into the inner-sanctum of the Oval Office. As the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the senior senator from Delaware has been a major proponent of a no-nonsense approach to bringing the troops home. Biden also commands respect on The Hill and in the Pentagon.

Attorney General—Lani Guinier
For the past seven years, justice has been denied to virtually any American whose net worth was not seven digits or greater. Labeled by the right as “anti-Constitution” and “the quota queen” when Bill Clinton nominated her for assistant attorney general in 1993, the president caved, kicking his former Yale Law School classmate under the bus. *Imminently (see Monroe's comment below) qualified, Guinier will make sure that the poor and the wage earner gets their just due.

Secretary of Defense—Sam Nunn
As a member of the Obama administration, the four-term retired Georgia senator will have to tamp down his opposition to gays in the military if any change is gonna come. But, beyond that discriminatory instinct, the former chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services is ideal for Defense Secretary. Right now, Nunn is the co-chairman—with Ted Turner--and Chief Executive Officer of the NTI (Nuclear Threat Initiative), a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

National Security Advisor—Susan Rice
Rice will have her hands full correcting the international miscalculations of President Bush’s Condoleezza Rice. Currently on leave from the Brookings Institute, Dr. Susan Rice served President Clinton as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. She now serves as the Obama campaign’s senior foreign policy advisor.

Secretary of Veteran Affairs--John Murtha
The House already has a Democratic-margin safety net; therefore Obama can deftly move the Pennsylvania congressman into this important post. Like McCain, Murtha is a Vietnam War hero. Unlike McCain, three years ago Murtha called for a redeployment of American troops in Iraq. A Clinton supporter in the primary race, Murtha—along with Powell and Biden—would help the Obama administration consolidate support in military and veteran quarters.
more selections

Republican Picks for Obama's Cabinet

this is from the times UK, an enlightening story that covers a lot of ground. it seems european journalists write with much more candor. obama will likely choose some republicans for his candidate, sticking to his promise of nonpartisianship.

Obama is taking nothing for granted in his quest to become America’s first black president. “Remember New Hampshire!” he said, recalling the primary upset that restored Clinton’s status as the frontrunner after her initial shock defeat in Iowa.

Earlier Obama had told the audience at a suburban high school rally in Dallas, Texas, that he intended to follow the example of his hero, President Abraham Lincoln, and appoint a cabinet of the talents, irrespective of party labels.

here's another excerpt on who he might appoint:

AS Barack Obama enters the final stages of the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, he is preparing to detach the core voters of John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, with the same ruthless determination with which he has peeled off Hillary Clinton’s supporters.

The scene is set for a tussle between the two candidates for the support of some of the sharpest and most independent minds in politics. Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war, and Richard Lugar, leader of the Republicans on the Senate foreign relations committee.

Senior advisers confirmed that Hagel, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and one of McCain’s closest friends in the Senate, was considered an ideal candidate for defence secretary. Some regard the outspoken Republican as a possible vice-presidential nominee although that might be regarded as a “stretch”.

Asked about his choice of cabinet last week, Obama told The Sunday Times: “Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine and I respect him very much,” although he was wary of appearing as though he was already choosing the White House curtains. But after winning 11 primary contests in a row after Super Tuesday, he is ready to elbow Clinton off the stage.