Obama banking on heavy Washington experience for Cabinet choices Home

Washington, Nov.21 : US President-elect Barack Obama is leaning toward selecting people with heavy Washington experience for his Cabinet.

A Fox News report suggests that Obama's first potential Cabinet picks indicate that he may bring more years of Washington experience to his administration than Bill Clinton or George W. Bush did.

Obama''s first four likely Cabinet choices, including former first lady Hillary Clinton, have a combined total of more than 60 years of Washington experience.

By comparison, President Bush''s first four Cabinet picks had a total of 30 years experience in Washington, and former President Clinton''s had 58.

Obama has chosen former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle, a 30-year Washington veteran, to be his secretary of health and human services, and former deputy attorney general Eric Holder, a 20-year Washington veteran, to be his attorney general. His transition team is also reviewing Hillary Clinton, who has 15 years of experience in Washington as First Lady and as New York senator, for the position of Secretary of State.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano is Obama''s pick to lead the seven-year-old Department of Homeland Security, is a Washington outsider.

Obama signaled early on what kind of Cabinet he would recruit when he named Rahm Emanuel, a veteran of the Clinton administration and a fellow member of Congress, as his White House chief of staff.

Political analyst Riley said it''s a good idea to appoint Washington veterans to positions that a president must rely on for so much.

"You have to have a good mix of eminence, people you can rely on and not mind being in a foxhole with," he added.

ANI