Giuliani for Attorney General or Homeland Security. Lieberman at State. Gates stays at Defense and General Jones, a McCain supporter, becomes NSA as in OTL.
Ambitious Project: A Real-Time McCain Administration
- Thread starter BlackMage
- Start date
JohnJacques
Banned
Lieberman won't be getting State. There's no benefit to doing it, especially if he gets caught up in a political battle.
Really, reading up more about Lieberman, I don't see him getting any slot in a McCain Administration. He's more useful in Washington, to annoy the Dems and keep one more Senate seat in favor of the war.
Really, reading up more about Lieberman, I don't see him getting any slot in a McCain Administration. He's more useful in Washington, to annoy the Dems and keep one more Senate seat in favor of the war.
Governor of Connecticut is a Republican. If Lieberman leaves, she can appoint someone who's both in favour of the war and will vote with Republicans on other issues, which Lieberman, mostly, will not. It's to McCain's advantage to whittle away the Democratic majority; that way, it becomes easier to build bridges to conservative Democrats (the Nelsons, Feinstein, Landrieu) by giving them the balance of power.
JohnJacques
Banned
See, but Lieberman won because the Republicans in Connecticut are mostly a joke. He won, in part, because he was an institution. The Republican appointed in his stead would be gone at the next election (probably)
McCain could grab a Republican in Connecticut-and expose a political battle over Lieberman's confirmation and make Joe look like even more of a traitor.
I personally don't see Lieberman getting out of the Senate. He's not well-liked amongst conservative Democrats (not one of them, really) and his appointment will look just like a sop to a supporter, not a reach across the aisle.
Thats just my opinion- but I don't see a real reason for McCain to give Lieberman a place. The Right's lionizing of Lieberman disappears the moment they win anything.
And he certainly doesn't get a high office like State.
But that's not the way McCain operates. McCain, for all his faults, is very loyal to his friends and supporters -- and Lieberman is one of his closest friends and supporters. He would never leave him to the tender mercies of the Democratic majority; think of it in Klingon terms.
State may be a bit much, so I agree: Homeland Security is the best bet. After all, Lieberman is chair of that committee, and it's sufficiently high-profile to serve as a plum reward.
JohnJacques has suggested Robert Kagan for SecState in our PMs. I still have some reservations about the pick, but it's a good place to start thinking from. Giuliani is probably too tarnished to be Attorney-General; McCain could keep Michael Mukasey (who, after all, only took over last year), or pick a longtime stalwart like Ted Olsen, or go for a young conservative rising star -- although none spring to mind.
I can't think of any conservatives who particularly spring to mind as leading voices on education, health or labour. Tommy Thompson could be appointed as Secretary of Education, given his role in voucher programs in Wisconsin. McCain's sensibilities could lend themselves to an interesting choice for Agriculture -- after all, he's well-known as an opponent of pork projects, and he may choose a similar 'maverick reformer' to take on the agribusiness industry.
Issue: Who could McCain pick for Secretary of Energy who would take on global warming and renewable energy, while still being acceptable to the Republican Party as a whole? John Warner's too old, but someone like that -- a moderate Republican, or even a Democrat -- would be the right choice.
Pat Fitzgarld-Attorny General
Charlie Crist-??? he would get a cabinate spot
Tim Plawenty- ???
Colin Powell- Sec of State for a second time, McCain likes him and he represented the dove part of Bush cabinate against the Neo Cons
Charlie Crist-??? he would get a cabinate spot
Tim Plawenty- ???
Colin Powell- Sec of State for a second time, McCain likes him and he represented the dove part of Bush cabinate against the Neo Cons
JohnJacques
Banned
But has that ever really been tested? He's supported his friends against and within the party machine. Its different in executive and legislative terms, and it could hurt him politically.
I'll accept that he'll do it though- I don't think it will be best politically though. DHS it is.
I'll admit; Kagan was on my list because of his long relationship with McCain and his separation from Bush. So, the Lieberman pick I guess can fall under the same logic.
Rudy is too tarnished- his corruption in NYC has become well known. The name I've heard bandied about is Fred Thompson, which is almost funny.
Lisa Graham Keegan seems a logical choice- and fits the long-time McCain ally bit.
I think Mark Sanford would be a good choice for Ag. Big anti-pork crusader. Rising star, too.
Fred Thompson was a rising star, the GOP's warm and funny southern senator, a great McCain ally. Then he left the Senate. By the time he ran for President, all that love was gone. It's generally accepted you need more to be A-G than simply to 'be a lawyer'.
How about Lindsey Graham for A-G? He's been speculated as to as a possible Supreme Court pick. He's got experience on the Judiciary Committee. He and McCain seem to be deep, abiding friends, and South Carolina has a Republican governor. Plus, his stances on amnesty and torture give him good bipartisan credentials.
Keegan is perfect -- having read the article, I can't imagine anyone else for the role. Sanford works, too.
On a Google search, both Huckabee and Romney are vetted for possible Health Secretaries. Romney's health politics are, ironically, probably too far to the left to be acceptable to McCain, but I've heard bipartisan plaudits for Huckabee's health program in Arkansas. The question is, would either accept what's considered to be a relatively low-profile portfolio?
Have we considered a senior role for Zalmay Khalilzad? There's not much higher he can go, except Secretary of State, but he's a well-regarded diplomat and seems well-placed for promotion.
JohnJacques
Banned
Let me explain my general reasoning for a clearing out of Bush appointees by McCain.
Obama ran on a platform of Change but as editorials have told us, he put a premium on Experience. I imagine McCain will do the opposite and will have far more latitude when it comes to picking Experience, and will emphasize Change.
If McCain won, he did it by shedding the Bush mantle. As such, he cannot easily keep any Bush appointees.
When it comes to Defense, he has been a strident critic of their acquisition policies. Robert Gates had stated he would not stay in an incoming Administration, and as said above, he conflicted McCain's statements a few times during the campaign. Obama kept him to deflect criticism on experience and to keep a Republican in a high up position. As to who McCain will pick, I honestly don't know. I just don't think it will be Gates, because there is little political incentive to do so.
When it comes to environmental picks, he tried to come off as more green than even Obama. There will be no global warming denials in his picks, which removes most Bush appointees from consideration.
When it comes to Attorney General, he came close to voting against Mukasey and they conflicted on torture. Mukasey is out and McCain's Justice Department will be looking towards closing Gitmo and ending "enhanced interrogation techniques". Keeping Mukasey would open him to further criticism on the strength of his anti-torture credentials.
When it comes to State, Rice wants to leave and McCain needs a fresh face there, to show he isn't just Bush. I think Kagan is the best choice, because he is not connected to Bush Jr. (He worked in the State Department under Bush Sr.) And beyond that, he is a very intelligent man and a conservative critic of some of Bush's foreign policy.
I think McCain will be trying hard to not be Bush when he takes up the Presidency. If he wants his Party to survive, that is. So I don't see a place for many Bush appointees. And thats ignoring that new Administrations generally get rid of even the people they agree with.
Obama ran on a platform of Change but as editorials have told us, he put a premium on Experience. I imagine McCain will do the opposite and will have far more latitude when it comes to picking Experience, and will emphasize Change.
If McCain won, he did it by shedding the Bush mantle. As such, he cannot easily keep any Bush appointees.
When it comes to Defense, he has been a strident critic of their acquisition policies. Robert Gates had stated he would not stay in an incoming Administration, and as said above, he conflicted McCain's statements a few times during the campaign. Obama kept him to deflect criticism on experience and to keep a Republican in a high up position. As to who McCain will pick, I honestly don't know. I just don't think it will be Gates, because there is little political incentive to do so.
When it comes to environmental picks, he tried to come off as more green than even Obama. There will be no global warming denials in his picks, which removes most Bush appointees from consideration.
When it comes to Attorney General, he came close to voting against Mukasey and they conflicted on torture. Mukasey is out and McCain's Justice Department will be looking towards closing Gitmo and ending "enhanced interrogation techniques". Keeping Mukasey would open him to further criticism on the strength of his anti-torture credentials.
When it comes to State, Rice wants to leave and McCain needs a fresh face there, to show he isn't just Bush. I think Kagan is the best choice, because he is not connected to Bush Jr. (He worked in the State Department under Bush Sr.) And beyond that, he is a very intelligent man and a conservative critic of some of Bush's foreign policy.
I think McCain will be trying hard to not be Bush when he takes up the Presidency. If he wants his Party to survive, that is. So I don't see a place for many Bush appointees. And thats ignoring that new Administrations generally get rid of even the people they agree with.
I'm bumping this, because I still think it's a good idea.
Quite a few of Obama's picks have been career politicians; that gives us precedent for McCain to act similarly, making our task easier. If rumours are accurate and Obama has picked Congressman Ray LaHood as his Transportation Secretary, then that makes LaHood an obvious pick for McCain, as well (since he's a Republican)
So our cabinet at the moment could look like:
State: Kagan
Defence: Gates
Attorney-General: Graham
Education: Keegan
Homeland Security: Lieberman
Transportation: LaHood
Agriculture: Sanford
Are there any Democrats who can be appointed? Lieberman doesn't really count. Maybe a Democrat for Interior, given McCain's fairly progressive environmental stands?
Quite a few of Obama's picks have been career politicians; that gives us precedent for McCain to act similarly, making our task easier. If rumours are accurate and Obama has picked Congressman Ray LaHood as his Transportation Secretary, then that makes LaHood an obvious pick for McCain, as well (since he's a Republican)
So our cabinet at the moment could look like:
State: Kagan
Defence: Gates
Attorney-General: Graham
Education: Keegan
Homeland Security: Lieberman
Transportation: LaHood
Agriculture: Sanford
Are there any Democrats who can be appointed? Lieberman doesn't really count. Maybe a Democrat for Interior, given McCain's fairly progressive environmental stands?
wouldn't Graham make a better choice for Supreme Court considering one of the liberal justices will be retiring soon... this is why i think Pat Fitzgarald would make an interesting choice considering that McCain said he would end corruption and Fitzgarald is considered America's top anti corruption laywer
JohnJacques
Banned
Graham though would be one of the first Justices in a long while with a legislative history.
If you thought confirmations were tough for a lawyer or a judge..... wait till the Senate gets their hands on a politician.
If you thought confirmations were tough for a lawyer or a judge..... wait till the Senate gets their hands on a politician.
Doubtful that any liberal justices would retire under McCain, unless they absolutely had to for health reasons. The only one of the four liberals with a good chance of being replaced by McCain would be Stevens, given that he will be 92 by the end of McCain's first term... but we've had Senators serve into their 90s, and Stevens will hold out as long as he can to avoid being replaced by a potential 5th anti-Roe vote.
It's not even a sure thing Stevens will retire by 2012 in OTL: He might want to stay on long enough to break the longest serving justice record, which wouldn't happen until the summer of 2012- and then he might not want to retire so close to a presidential election.
To take the discussion a bit in another direction: Janet Napolitano (D) has to appoint someone into McCain's Senate seat. What are the possibilities? Would she try to sell it? 
Currently Washington D.C. would be abuzz over the story of the arrest of Sherry Johnston, mother-in-law to Bristol Palin, and soon to be sister-in-law to Vice-President Sarah Palin for drug possession in Wasilla, Alaska:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4BI5VO20081219
To make matters worse, much of the good will that the McCain administration has garnered, was slowly burned with the presentation in The Los Angeles Times of RNC Chairman Chip Sattsman and Rush Limbaugh's rendition of "Obama the Magic Negro":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfxVkLhlu5s
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4BI5VO20081219
To make matters worse, much of the good will that the McCain administration has garnered, was slowly burned with the presentation in The Los Angeles Times of RNC Chairman Chip Sattsman and Rush Limbaugh's rendition of "Obama the Magic Negro":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfxVkLhlu5s