Americans will elect not only a president today, but also his huge team of aides, advisers and bureaucrats who will help the winner run the government for the next four years.
Clearly a John McCain presidency would be more conservative than a Barack Obama presidency. Beyond the ideological and partisan divides, however, are differences in style, tone and pedigree that would distinguish one administration from the other.
Senator Obama, if he wins, appears likely to draw several of his top aides, including some Cabinet secretaries, from three key sources: Democratic governors midway through their second and final terms in office; former top appointees of Bill Clinton’s administration; and political pros from Obama’s hometown of Chicago.
Senator McCain, a former Navy officer whose father and grandfather were admirals, is likely to rely more heavily on current and retired military officials. He probably would draw more people from the corporate world, and somewhat fewer people from think tanks and academia, than would Obama, people close to the candidates said.
Numerous lists of potential appointees are circulating in Washington, Chicago and Arizona.
People close to Obama believe he would offer jobs to some or all of a quartet of Democratic governors who campaigned hard for him, even if a couple of them opposed him initially.
Two, who have thrived in Republican-leaning states — Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius — backed Obama from the start. Napolitano is seen as a possible attorney general. Sebelius is mentioned as a possible secretary of education, commerce, energy or health and human services.
Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania is seen as a possible pick for the top energy or transportation posts. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who sought the presidential nomination himself, is thought to be on a short list for secretary of state.
Top Obama campaign aides David Axelrod and David Plouffe of Chicago would be probable picks for senior adviser or political posts. Officials say Obama already has approached Representative Raum Emanuel of Chicago, who got his political start with Clinton, as a possible White House chief of staff. Campaign aide Robert Gibbs has the inside track to be press secretary.
McCain, in picking his transition chief, set a tone that he would carry into the White House if elected, associates say. He tapped former Navy secretary John Lehman, one of several prominent military officials close to him.
Lehman might serve as defense secretary or senior adviser in a McCain administration, sources say. McCain, who says US troops should not leave Iraq until victory is secured, might ask current Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay, at least a while.
At least two of McCain’s vanquished Republican rivals could land administration jobs if he wins. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has been mentioned as a possible attorney general. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney could contend for several other posts.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
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