Yes We Might!

With President-elect Obama bringing quite a few "old hands" into his cabinet, some are starting to wonder what Change looks like. Of particular note is Eric Holder, Obama's rumored choice for Attorney General. A guest column in Saturday's Times shines a light on Holder's role in Bill Clinton's pardoning of billionaire fugitive Marc Rich, "one of the most unjustifiable pardons that an American president has ever granted." It is definitely worth the read, especially if you're like me and don't know anything about that pardon.

The larger question of whether Obama can concretely change America's economic fortunes or international standing will have to wait; it is premature to judge his administration based on these cabinet picks. The Holder thing seems unwise, but other choices are encouraging. If it's Gov. Napolitano for DHS, she might bring some sanity to immigration enforcement; Peter Orszag has to be one of the smartest people in Washington; Hillary Clinton is the right kind of high-profile, internationally respected individual to lead the State Department. Looks like we may also get Tom Daschle at Health & Human Services, and Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary. I still think Richardson should be the VP.  Or the Secretary of State.

Other names floating around include Howard Dean, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, and Tom Vilsack. That's a lot of high-profile Democrats. Whether having a star-studded cabinet is a good idea or not remains to be seen.