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Obama wrapping up cabinet picks with Richardson

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-03 15:46

CHICAGO - US President-elect Barack Obama moved swiftly toward wrapping up his cabinet appointments on Wednesday with the selection of rival-turned-supporter Bill Richardson as secretary of commerce.

Obama, who takes over from President George W. Bush on January 20, has unveiled a series of top staffing picks in the last 10 days, putting him far ahead of recent presidents in the pace at which he has nominated the officials who will help run his administration.

Just a month after his November 4 victory over Republican John McCain, the former Illinois senator has picked his economic and national security teams, including New York Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state and New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary.

The stakes are higher for Obama than they were for his most recent predecessors. The new president faces the worst economic crisis since the 1930s and two US  wars abroad.

His selections so far have been aimed at showing he can tackle the recession deftly while also meeting his goal of improving the US image abroad.

Richardson, who had hoped to become secretary of state but lost out to Clinton, another former presidential hopeful, will join the economic side of Obama's team, overseeing an agency that promotes US exports to the rest of the world.

The New Mexico governor, a former United Nations ambassador and energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, will be able to tap his own international connections for his new post.

The commerce secretary is seen as the voice of the US business community in the White House and is charged with promoting US business interests overseas.

Some observers expressed surprise that Richardson, who would be the first high-profile Hispanic pick in the Obama administration, had accepted a relatively low profile department to lead.

"I'm surprised that he took it," said Animesh Ghoshal, a professor of economics at DePaul University in Chicago.

"I don't think the secretary of commerce position is all that important."

Richardson became an early supporter of Obama after dropping out of the Democratic nominating process. His endorsement of Obama infuriated Clinton's camp, where he was seen as disloyal in view of his previous positions in Bill Clinton's administration.

Obama may try to offset Richardson's disappointment over losing the foreign policy post by putting a spotlight firmly on the New Mexico governor, at least for a day.

While previous Obama news conferences have showcased two or more appointments, Richardson is expected to share the stage with the president-elect alone on Wednesday.