President Obama Still Reaching Out With Diversity, Nominates Gary Locke For Commerce Department

Gary Locke and Wife Mona

Say what you want but I like that President Obama is sticking with his vision for the United States, how he wants to do things. That theme is obvious with his anticipated nomination of former Washington governor Gary Locke to likely be President Obama's choice to head the Commerce Department, according to several administration officials briefed on the decision.

The choice of Locke for commerce secretary would continue a pair of themes that have emerged as Obama has assembled his Cabinet: diversity and reaching out to former rivals.

Locke a former Hillary Clinton backer was the first, and remains the only, Chinese American to be elected governor of a state, and he would become the third Asian American in Obama's Cabinet, joining Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

After several high-profile misfires emerged in the Cabinet selection process, Locke is regarded as a safe choice by senior officials in the Obama administration given his long history in public life, his strait-laced reputation and his bipartisan governing credentials. His steady -- and generally popular -- tenure as governor of Washington was the biggest factor in his selection, according to a source familiar with the administration's thinking.

An Eagle Scout who lived in public housing as a child, Locke began his political career in the Washington House, where he served for a decade starting in 1982. After three years as county executive in Seattle's King County in the mid-1990s , Locke was easily elected governor in 1996. He won reelection in 2000 with 58 percent of the vote, served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association in 2003 and gave the Democratic response to President George W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.

Locke decided against seeking a third term, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and to reclaim a "normal life."

After leaving office in 2004, Locke joined the Seattle office of the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, specializing in China and energy issues. Fred Yang, a Democratic pollster and partner at Garin-Hart-Yang Research, said Locke's heritage and his familiarity with trade issues related to Asia would make him a wise pick for Obama.

More of this story At Washington Post.com

Another Kennedy In The Senate? Caroline Would Make Our Future Look Brite

Caroline Kennedy, who spent most of her life looking to steer clear of the spotlight, is capping off a year of unusually public -- and political -- activity with interest in the Senate seat that would be vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton.


Widely described as extraordinarily shy, self-deprecating and down-to-earth, Kennedy has tended to limit her forays into the public sphere to nonpartisan activity, penning books on civil liberties and serving as the de facto guardian of her father's legacy.

But in January, she backed a political candidate for the first time, announcing her endorsement of Obama during the Democratic primary season with an opinion piece in the New York Times that drew days of the kind of media attention she has spent her life avoiding.

"I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them," she wrote. "But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president -- not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."



"Remember, [Clinton's] seat in the Senate was once held by Robert Kennedy," CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said Saturday. "Her other uncle, Ted Kennedy, is ill right now. If [New York Gov. David] Paterson appoints Caroline Kennedy to the Senate, it means there could be a Kennedy staying in the Senate for quite a long time."

And a Senate appointment for Caroline Kennedy would mark a change for the woman who has rarely run into the glare of political attention.
More on this story of the new Kennedy promise at CNNPolitics.com

Obama Appoints General Shinseki To Veterans Affairs; Continues Retribution of Bush Policies

Former Bush Chief Of Staff General Eric Shinseki, has been appointed by President-Elect Obama for the position of Seceretary Of Veterans Affairs. And like a "phoenix" he has risen again from the ashes of two wars the Bush administration has left us.

You may not remember that Shinseki was the first four-star general of Japanese-American ancestry. But what you must remember is that General Eric Shinseki, in 2003, testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand US troops to control Iraq after the invasion. And then was fired by the Bush Administration for telling the truth.

His estimate was dismissed by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and President Bush who were hell bent on invading Iraq and starting a war. He was ousted from his job within months. In the end, General Shinseki was right, he was practically prophetic in the post invasion kayos that ensued because of insufficient troop levels. President George W. Bush, Vice President Chaney and Rumsfeld were wrong; so very, very wrong.

"Therefore General Shinseki was "exactly the right person" to honour returning soldiers." ...Barack Obama