WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON - A Cabinet that looks like America. That's been the goal for recently elected presidents as they put together their administrations.
Barack Obama's team is coming into focus in a slightly different light: It looks, to a remarkable degree, like him.
The president-elect says he wants to recruit "Americans of great intellect, broad experience and good character." He's fleshing out his White House and administration with men and women who reflect his racial heritage, cultural background and intelligence.
Obama said during his presidential campaign that "one of the things that sets this country apart is that there is no one who looks like a typical American."
And yet, as the first biracial president, he will uniquely embody 21st-century America. The nation is becoming more diverse every year, with more than one in three Americans a member of a minority group. Within a generation, minorities will be a majority of the population, the Census Bureau has projected.
Moving more swiftly than his predecessors in forming a government, Obama has been parading his racially and ethnically diverse appointees before the cameras in Chicago. They showcase a commitment to give minorities senior government jobs, and potentially create the most diverse administration yet.
Obama is expected to name the first African-American attorney general, Eric Holder, and is said to be considering Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown for secretary of veterans affairs.
African-Americans will stand out on his White House staff. They include senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Domestic Policy Council chief Melody Barnes, Deputy Budget Director Rob Nabors and social secretary Desiree Rogers, the first African-American in that post.
Putting minorities and women into highly visible positions is also a form of political payback. Heavy support from women and minority voters is the reason Obama, and not John McCain, will be president.
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is widely reported to be his choice for secretary of state, the diplomatic face of the United States and historically the most powerful Cabinet member (who has not been a white man in more than a decade). Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is expected to be homeland security secretary, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Hispanic, is in line for commerce secretary. Women have been given top positions inside the White House, including as head of the Council of Economic Advisers and the communications shop.
