Obama promised the most diverse Cabinet and staff in history and he has largely delivered on that promise.
Although neither Cabinet or staff come close to representing the population of major minority groups, Obama has still reached farther than his predecessors. One difficulty of course is that the past history of under-representation makes it difficult to find equivalent candidates among minority groups. One way that Obama has worked around this is to look for experts rather than political allies to fill certain positions. For example, Stephen Chu is someone who most political junkies have never heard of, but he is a Nobel Prize-winning physicists with past interest in sustainable energy, and thus it's difficult to argue with his qualifications as secretary of energy.
Among Obama's top choices include two Republicans, five women, three Hispanics, three African Americans, two Asian Americans, and one Arab American. One openly LGBT person, Nancy Sutley, was appointed as head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Many women were in fact surprised by the number and level of Obama's Cabinet picks including Hillary Clinton as secretary of State and Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security chief.
Latinos were originally discouraged when Bill Richardson was passed over for secretary of State landing secretary of Commerce instead. But with a total of three high-level Latino Cabinet picks and other staff choices, Obama has exceeded his predecessors both in quantity and quality.
Obama gears up to hit ground running with diverse cabinet pick
Thaindian.com, Thailand -Jan 1, 2009
The incoming president’s cabinet picks are diverse. They include two Republicans, five women, three Hispanics, three African Americans, two Asian Americans ...
Thaindian.com, Thailand -
The incoming president’s cabinet picks are diverse. They include two Republicans, five women, three Hispanics, three African Americans, two Asian Americans ...
Maria Elena Salinas: Obama's Latino factor Merced Sun-Star, CA - After all, Obama did promise to have one of the most diverse presidential Cabinets in history. It turns out that's one promise the president-elect is ... |
 CTV.ca | Obama’s Diverse Cabinet Lacks Members From Business Community Bloomberg - 20 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet is notable for its diversity, experience in government, and absence of people from the business ... Obama’s Cabinet: A Diverse Center-Left Team Assembled Quickly |
1 comment:
This is a good reminder of the preparation and vision that went into forming the cabinet, especially in appointing a diverse team. Well done!
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