Since the nominations of Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama has come under fire over the gender make-up of his 2013 Cabinet. Many critics have argued that women are blatantly missing from Obama’s appointment. Here is the breakdown:
Secretary of State
In office: Hillary Clinton
Nominated: Sen. John Kerry
Secretary of the Treasury
In office: Timothy Geithner
To be nominated: Jack Lew
Secretary of Defense
In office: Leon Panetta
Nominated: Sen. Chuck Hagel
Attorney General
In office: Eric Holder
To be nominated: none at this time (personally I think California’s Kamala Harris would be excellent)
Secretary of the Interior
In office: Ken Salazar
Possible nominations: David Hayes, Sen. Byron Dorgan, Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Secretary of Agriculture
In office: Thomas Vilsack
Possible nominations: Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Sen. Kent Conrad, Sen. John Tester.
Secretary of Commerce
In office: Rebecca Blank
Possible nomination: Sheryl Sandberg
Secretary of Labor
In office: Hilda Solis
Possible nominations: None at this time
Secretary of Health and Human Services
In office: Kathleen Sebelius
Possible nominations: none at this time
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
In office: Shaun Donovan
Possible nominations: None at this time
Secretary of Transportation
In office: Ray LaHood
Possible Nominations: Antonio Villaraigosa, Gov. Ed Rendell, Rep. Steve LaTourette.
Secretary of Energy
In office: Steven Chu
Possible nominations: Jim Rogers, Cathy Zoi, Kathleen McGinty, Louis Hay III
Secretary of Education
In office: Arne Duncan
Possible nominations: none at this time
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
In office: Eric Shinseki
Possible nominations: none at this time
Secretary of Homeland Security
In office: Janet Napolitano
Possible nominations: Hon. Merrick Garland, Matthew Olsen, Ray Kelly, Thad Allen, Bill Bratton.
White House Chief of Staff
In office: Jack Lew
Possible nominations: Ron Klain, Tom Donilon, Leon Panetta, Tom Nides, Denis McDonough.
Out of sixteen cabinet positions, during Obama’s first term five of which were women. While most of the nominations have yet to be formalized, given the above-mentioned possible nominations, it looks like women will loose a few seats in Obama’s second term cabinet.
What people are really pissed off about is that a male will replace Hillary Clinton. While Sen. John Kerry is well received, over the last four years Clinton has dominated the media’s attention promoting a more gender-neutral image of American politics. The image of power, strength, and success that Hillary commands will be somewhat lost to the Obama cabinet. I’m sure we have not seen the last of Hillary in the media, but the Obama administration will no longer be able to utilize her image to its benefit. Furthermore, the importance of the Secretary of State’s position being held by a woman really says something about our society, as does the Secretary of Commerce (more than likely to remain held by a woman), and the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Sebelius more than likely to remain in office), and Secretary of Homeland Security.
Furthermore, while his cabinet may be lacking in women this term, Obama’s judicial nominations have been somewhat gender-neutral. All this hype is just another media stunt to gain ratings. Obama should hire the most qualified candidate for each position regardless of their gender, and as more women work their way up, more women will be the most qualified candidates for office. If Sen. John Kerry was a woman, this would not be an issue. Can you think of a better replacement, that is female, as qualified as Kerry, and willing to take the job? I doubt it.