Cohen: Gore for Secretary of State

Columnist lists his picks for Obama's cabinet

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 11, 2008 11:06 AM CST

(Newser) – If Barack Obama wants to make good on his promise of change, he should start by nominating Al Gore for secretary of state, Richard Cohen suggests in the Washington Post. Earth’s “custodian” has worlds of government experience—and “can you imagine a bolder statement about a new direction when it comes to global warming and the general care of our abused planet?”

Follow that pick with Lawrence Summers for Treasury, Cohen writes: “Summers can be an outstanding social klutz, but a deep recession is not a tea party. He has the tools.” And finally, Obama should make a statement by making education secretary an inner-Cabinet post and installing in it Joel Klein, who left his high-paying private sector work to fix New York’s public schools.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore speaks at the Iowa Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin Sanders)

In this Dec. 19, 2007 file photo, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, speaks at the Brookings Institution, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Name Al Gore secretary of state. In one stroke, the United States would emerge as the leader of nations in the effort to save the planet from ourselves—and could prepare for the consequences of a changed world. - Richard Cohen

If change is going to be more than a slogan, it will have to come from determined former insiders such as themselves. If they come to Washington, it won't be because they want the job. It'll be because they want the challenge. - Richard Cohen

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

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Cohen: Gore for Secretary of State