OPINION

Friday, December 5, 2008 12:05 PM

Op-Ed Pages Take Up Obama's Picks

Opinion-makers are all over President-elect Barack Obama's nominations. This shouldn't be surprising, considering he's filling his Cabinet at record pace -- naming picks for 13 of the 24 most important positions. In comparison, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan had two, and Bill Clinton only one announced nominee at this point in their transitions, the New York Times reports.

Here's a sample of the appointments buzz:

• The Los Angeles Times editorial board thinks it's a "terrible idea" for Obama to appoint California Rep. Xavier Becerra as his top trade representative.
• Hillary Rodham Clinton's effectiveness as secretary of State will likely be measured by three questions, Ronald Brownstein predicts."Will Clinton's experience as an
  elected official help or hurt her?" "Whose failures does she remember?"
  And, "Is Clinton's star power an asset or a liability?"
• Meanwhile, the Boston Globe's Ellen Goodman likens Clinton to Eleanor Roosevelt.
• The American Spectator's R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. calls Clinton the most "bizarre" of Obama's picks so far.
• Henry Kissinger praises the president-elect for the "courage" it took to choose his formidable foreign policy team.
• Declaring that the "stakes are huge," David Brooks examines one of the "biggest choices" of Obama's presidency: secretary of Education.
• The Washington Post editorial board believes the ideal candidate for Education secretary "would be someone who is not afraid to break with orthodoxy."
• Kimberley Strassel frets over the "doozy" of a decision Obama will soon make regarding his energy and environmental policy team.
  
• The Daily Kos considers four candidates on Obama's short list for Agriculture secretary: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Colorado Rep. John Salazar, former Texas Rep. Charles Stenholm and Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.
• The Wall Street Journal editorial board marvels at how "little attention is being paid to what is probably the most important job opening in the world" -- the New York Federal Reserve Presidency, which Timothy Geithner will be vacating next month.