Obama Cabinet Picks: Seasoned and Centrist

Barack Obama swept into office on a wave of left-wing support, but his appointments thus far point to a centrist governing style, writes David E. Sanger in the New York Times. In choosing Hillary Clinton for secretary of state and Timothy Geithner for Treasury, Obama seems ready to “govern from the center-right of his party, surrounding himself with pragmatists rather than ideologues.”

As rumors fly about upcoming appointments, experience appears to be key in Obama’s selection process—and that’s because there’s “no time for experimentation,” an adviser says. Clinton’s appointment is a “gamble” after she and Obama showed strong foreign policy differences on the campaign trail. For his part, Geithner is more “Team of Neutrals” than the much-trumpeted team of rivals.
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