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Who in the Obama Administration are we pleased with, as advisers or Cabinet members?

So far, the best fits in their positions are:

(1) Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State

(2) Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture

(3) Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense

The worst fits (with no reflection on them as people, or their abilities in other roles):

(1) Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy

(2) Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation

(3) Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services Designate

(4) Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff

Out of all of these, the person who has the greatest chance of doing the most harm to the American economy and wasting the most of the Trillions in Spending Obama’s rammed through Congress is ironically the nicest and smartest man in the bunch: Steven Chu.

What we are really afraid of in the next three months is what Chu’s going to do when Russia, OPEC, Venezuela, and Mexico run out of cash and force a dramatic surge in oil prices. Chu, as brilliant as he is in the physics lab, and as beloved as he was in the classrooms at Berkely, will not know what to do to manage US oil policy when that foursome colludes to refill their oil profit coffers.

What’s most terrifying is that Chu still insists he’s not the arbiter of US oil policy, when as Energy Secretary, he most certainly is.

And then there’s Chu’s preference for theoretical, dream technology over proven energy solutions like responsible drilling under ANWAR, as Sarah Palin advocates, and development of offshore US oil fields, as Hillary Clinton advocated during the primaries.

Chu will see to it that billions are dumped into development of solar farms and wind turbines, when the jury’s still out on the actual benefits that will produce, especially in terms of stimulating the economy in 2009.

What do you think of the performance of the Cabinet and presidential advisers so far?

UPDATE: Also, does anyone else out there think it’s odd that, with all of Obama’s talk of Hope! and Change! and A New Kind of Politics!, out of the 35 most important positions in his Administration, just 9 are held by women?

Women make up 51% of America’s population, but represent just 26% of Obama’s Administration.

Black people make up 12% of the US population, but represent 11% of Obama’s Administration.

Why wasn’t gender equality as important to Obama as racial parity?

Just asking.

But, for the record, all of us in Boystown are thrilled Obama gave us 10% or more LGBTQ representation (probably the most in history). It’s just a shame that, in a country of 300 million, it wasn’t important for Obama to take a historic step for Change! and demand equal gender representation by including more of the qualified, capable women we know full well are out there, and would have proudly served this nation well, at posts such as Commerce, Transportation, Energy, Justice, the Interior, and Housing and Urban Development, among others.