Around this time (heard some rumblings last week) we start hearing about candidates’ vice-presidential choices. Inevitably talk turns to the candidates’ weak areas and speculation abounds about what VP options might best shore up said weaknesses. Should Barack choose Edwards, who would be stronger in the South and among the poor? Should McCain choose someone with a ‘soft’ image to take the edge of his reported ‘temper’?
Frankly, I really could not care who the VP is. Short of an assassination or or incapacitating event, the VP breaks a tie vote in the Senate. And likely makes a run for the top spot in 4 or 8 years. What’s never discussed is who the presidential candidates have in mind for cabinet positions. While I realize it’s a bit early in the cycle to float names, I think that’s mostly an historical byproduct. *Now* is the time when the cabinet nominees should be being discussed. Cabinet members and judges are two of the most important positions a President appoints. It’s not practical to discuss judgeships – they’re generally on an ‘as-needed’ basis anyway. But cabinet positions will have a direct impact on policy shaping and implementation almost immediately. You want to talk about ‘hit the ground running’? Get a cabinet team lined up *now* and promote that team. Why?
A) It’ll give people a better idea of how your philosophies espoused on the campaign trail will be realized.
B) More cynically, it’s a larger pool of people for voters to connect with (or react against). If a VP nomination is viewed as a way to shore up a candidate’s weak areas, a core cabinet team would accomplish the same thing, but many times over.
We won’t see this in this election, and probably not for many more. Hopefully we’ll see this approach within my lifetime!
Hmmmm – I’ve been giving this some thought – not sure what the answer is without putting the cabinet on the ticket as well!
In some other countries, the cabinet is drawn from the elected representatives e.g. Congress) and the person in charge (e.g. President) simply decides who to ask to do a particular cabinet job.
This is good as it means that the electorate has already ‘approved’ the people who have a big influence on policy and implementation, but not so good because it greatly reduces the amount of time and effort those officials can spend on the job the were actually elected to do (represent their district)