Today Obama announced that he is adding another Republican to his Cabinet; Ray LaHood from Illinois will be his Transportation Secretary.
In everything that we have been talking about with having a majority party making it easier to get things done, does it complicate things when a cabinet position is filled by a member of the other party? Apparently LaHood is versatile in his beliefs and is open to the beliefs of people outside his party.
LaHood is well-respected by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
One of LaHood’s closest friends in Congress, fellow Illinois Republican Tim Johnson, said LaHood “has the ability to work both sides of the aisle well” and called him “an extraordinarily talented legislator.
As a Republican I obviously believe that it’s great that LaHood is being added to the cabinet. Not only because he is a republican but also because I believe that the most qualified people should be in federal offices and if Obama thinks LaHood is qualified then that’s great. I hope that Obama continues to reach across party lines in his decisions throughout his presidency!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/17/transition.wrap/index.html
Being a republican, I obviously also think that it is wonderful that Obama is reaching across party lines to appoint members of his cabinet. The most qualified person should be appointed for each position regardless of party and the democrats already control everything so a little party diversity is definitely needed. The same would go if republicans controlled everything. tyranny of the majority is never a good thing. and as for the dems who are freaking out about Obama appointing repubs to cabinet offices, they should chill because the offices that are held by republicans are relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
By: crworth on December 18, 2008
at 9:04 pm
I completely agree that Obama’s choice to include a Republican in his cabinet was great. Reaching across party lines is essential for the executive branch to cooperate effectively. Like Tess stated, LaHood clearly has an open mind to issues regardless of his partisanship. Ultimately, Obama realized that instead of choosing people in his party, he should be choosing the overall best qualified for the job. LaHood clearly is well-equipped for the position. Hopefully the diversified cabinet will be able to collaborate smoothly and point America in the right direction.
By: shelbey on January 21, 2009
at 12:02 pm