There is an old adage that states that you can judge a lot about someone by the company that they keep. If this were to be applied, you would have to have deep respect for President-elect Barrack Obama right now, as he is putting together a first-class cabinet. He is putting professionalism and experience over ideology. He is appointing people whose ideas differ from his own. He is leading in the grand example of President Abraham Lincoln who famously put together a cabinet of his rivals and whose ideas differed significantly from his own.

In this tradition, he is having people lead the cabinet that were onetime rivals including most notably his choice for secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Though the list doesn't end there, as of course his Vice President-elect Joe Biden, also ran against him in the primary season. It doesn't hurt that he has some high-ranking Republicans leading the way as well, as demonstrated by having Defense Secretary Robert Gates staying on during this important time as with the nation bogged down in two wards it is not time to play politics.

A

s Obama said during his press

conference introducing his national security team, "And we move forward with respect for America's tradition of a bipartisan national security policy, and a commitment to national unity. When it comes to keeping our nation and our people safe, we are not Republicans and we are not Democrats: we are Americans. There is no monopoly of power or wisdom in either party."

This is a refreshing change, as far too often in both parties, the main qualification for an administration post is loyalty to the ideology of the president, and not whether the person is the best person that they could find for that position. We have seen with horrifying results what can happen when someone is in a post that is not qualified during a time of crisis, the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina being the most recent examples.

There are many highlights to this cabinet, but let me name a few. As for the national security team, everyone knows about Sen. Clinton and her background, though I would like to go into the biographies of some of the other picks. For the very important post of national security adviser, Obama went outside of the beltway, and picked someone with little to no political experience Ret. Marine Gen. James Jones, a lifelong military official. For the incredibly important post of Homeland Security secretary, he tabbed Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona, who has seen firsthand the tough and complicated issue of immigration, has helped deal with it and as a result is an expert in that field.

On the economic front, Obama has picked a similar group of professionals. Led by his choice for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, who is not a partisan by any means, rather the longtime president of the New York Fed, this is a great team. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico is an expert in creating jobs as he has done in New Mexico, and will help lead us out of the recession as commerce secretary.

Last but certainly not least is one can't underestimate the power of optimism, starting at the top with Obama and through his proposed cabinet. President John F. Kennedy is remembered so fondly by millions of Americans because of his optimism, and what it meant to Americans of all political stripes. We face extremely daunting challenges that didn't come about yesterday nor will be solved tomorrow. However, with optimism there is little that we as Americans can't do. As Obama said during the same press conference, "Together, as one nation, as one people, we can shape our times instead of being shaped by them. Together, we will meet the challenges of the 21st century not with fear, but with hope."
Steven M. Clayton
Ocean