Perennials in US cabinet of 'change'

Obama is enlisting former Senate leader Tom Daschle as his health secretary. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton seemed more likely than ever to be his secretary of state. Incoming U.S. president is also ready to announce that his attorney general will be Eric Holder, the Justice Department's No. 2 under Bill Clinton. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, is another veteran of the Clinton White House.

A few names that have bubbled up for Cabinet posts don't have strong Clinton connections. Several news organizations reported yesterday that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is Obama's primary choice to be secretary of the Homeland Security Department. The New York Times, citing Democrats with knowledge of the process, said Napolitano was about to be offered the job. The Washington Post and The Politico Web site also reported that she was Obama's choice.

Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, who was national finance chairman for Obama's presidential campaign, is his leading choice for commerce secretary, the Times reported. The newspaper said Pritzker was in the final stages of vetting by Obama's transition team.

Unwelcome trend
Still, Republicans sniped at what they saw as an unwelcome trend. Alex Conant, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said, "Barack Obama is filling his administration with longtime Washington insiders."

Daschle's selection to head the Health and Human Services Department - confirmed Wednesday but not yet announced - isn't at the same level of Cabinet prestige as the top spots at the State and Justice departments. But the health post could be more important in an Obama administration than in some others, making Daschle a key player in helping steer the president-elect's promised health care reforms.

Daschle could push Obama for quick action on health care reform next year, if he follows his own advice. Daschle said efforts during the Clinton administration, led by Hillary Clinton, took too long and went into too much detail, giving every interest group an opportunity to find something they didn't like about the plan.

"The next president should act immediately to capitalize on the goodwill that greets any incoming administration. If that means attaching a health care plan to the federal budget, so be it," Daschle wrote in a book he released this year, "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis." "This issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol."

The former South Dakota senator's return to the government will be a vindication of sorts. He was the Senate Democratic leader when he was defeated in 2004 by Republican John Thune, who convinced voters back home that Daschle was more concerned with Washington than with them.

In fact, Daschle stayed in the capital city after his defeat, becoming a public policy adviser and member of the legislative and public policy group at the law and lobbying firm Alston & Bird. Daschle isn't registered as a lobbyist. He advises clients on issues including health care, financial services, taxes and trade, according to the firm's Web site.

Democratic officials, meanwhile, yesterday said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, an early Obama supporter from the southwestern part of the country, is a leading contender for the job of secretary of homeland security.

These officials caution that no final decision has been made on the position, which involves directing the massive department created by the Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.The officials agreed to discuss the situation only on grounds of anonymity because of the private nature of the screening process for Obama's Cabinet. Napolitano, who once was Arizona's attorney general, was among the first of the Democratic governors to commit to him.