President-elect Barack Obama displayed excellent judgment last week in naming a pair of Western governors to his Cabinet.
Arizona’s Janet Napolitano and New Mexico’s Bill Richardson are proven leaders with abilities we admire. They are being asked to take on tremendous responsibilities, with Napolitano to run Homeland Security and Richardson to take over at Commerce.
No sooner than Obama announced his Napolitano pick did we learn that security experts fear a terror attack that uses weapons of mass destruction is a likelihood. A report issued by the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism warns about risks globally, but the distinction by no means lessens concerns about attacks on U.S. soil.
Clearly, Napolitano’s task is monumental. But as governor, she has shown fortitude in difficult situations.
As a border-state governor, Napolitano was instrumental in convincing President Bush to send more National Guard troops to police the border. She emerged as a tough yet sensible voice on the issue.
Homeland Security deals with immigration, and Napolitano’s stance against such things as fences indicates a more supple understanding of the issues.
Napolitano also served Arizona as attorney general and has been a U.S. attorney.
Meanwhile, Richardson is being asked to run Commerce at a time when there’s not enough commerce to go around.
But Richardson has lots of experience. A former congressman, he was an ambassador to the United Nations and secretary of Energy during the Clinton administration. In his first term as governor, Richardson cut income taxes for top owners and split capital gains taxes in half, both moves that many economists say help stimulate fiscal growth and create jobs.
Richardson is an accomplished world traveler, and he has engaged in tough, face-to-face deliberations with “thugs” (his word) such as Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro.
A drawback for Democrats in Obama’s choice of Napolitano is that Arizona will inherit a Republican governor. The state lacks a lieutenant governor, and the replacement would come in the form of Secretary of State Jan Brewer, who is a conservative Republican.
Then again, Arizona’s term limits mean that Napolitano, who won re-election in 2006, has only two years more to serve.
We hope our Western neighbors serve with distinction, as their new roles are too vital for them to do otherwise.
