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CLINTON'S ROOKIES REALLY SEASONED PROS : SEVERAL MEMBERS OF NEW CABINET ARE VETERAN ADMINISTRATION INSIDERS.


Byline: Robert A. Rankin Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Bill Clinton is still the quarterback as his second-term team settles into power, but his 15 Cabinet officers really run the operations of government, and seven of them are new to their jobs.

New season, new team - can one half-staffed by rookies get the job done? How does Clinton work with this bunch, as opposed to his first-term Cabinet? Who are the stars - and which ones aren't?

Perhaps the key to understanding Clinton's new Cabinet is recognition that the new ones, while new to their roles, are not inexperienced outsiders. On the contrary, all but two are veteran administration insiders, deeply schooled in the president's policies and priorities.

``That's the big change'' from his first-term team, said Kitty Higgins, the White House Cabinet secretary. ``If you look at who the new members of the Cabinet are, while they hold new jobs, they are not new to the administration.''

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Korbel Albright (born May 15 1937) was the first woman to become United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on December 5 1996 and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate 99-0. She was sworn in on January 23 1997. , the new secretary of state, for example, was the U.S. delegate to the United Nations in Clinton's first term. She is thus already a veteran of foreign-policy decision-making in his White House.

William Daley, the new commerce secretary, worked closely with Clinton's political team in the 1992 campaign and as co-host of last summer's Democratic convention in Chicago. In addition, Daley helped ramrod Clinton's 1993 crusade to ratify the North American Free Trade Agreement North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. , when he forged a tight alliance with Vice President Al Gore Noun 1. Al Gore - Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton (born in 1948)
Albert Gore Jr., Gore
.

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo (born December 6, 1957, in Queens, New York) is the New York State Attorney General. He was elected on November 7, 2006. Previously Cuomo was the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton between 1997 and 2001. , the new housing secretary, rose to the top job after four years as a deputy in the same bureaucracy, where he too became a Gore favorite, even coaching him before last fall's vice presidential candidates' debate.

Similarly, Rodney Slater Perhaps you would like to read about one of:
  • Rodney Slater, United States Secretary of Transportation
  • Rodney Slater, musician, member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
, the new transportation secretary, moved up after running the highway division since 1993. Slater had run Arkansas' highway department before that for then-Gov. Clinton.

Clinton veterans

This, in short, is a Cabinet of Clinton veterans. In fact, the only real outsiders are William Cohen For other persons named William Cohen, see William Cohen (disambiguation).
William Sebastian Cohen (born 28 August 1940) is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine.
, the new secretary of defense, and Bill Richardson This article or section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.
Content may change as the election approaches.
, the new ambassador to the United Nations. Yet even they aren't exactly rookies in the big leagues.

Cohen cohen
 or kohen

(Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male.
 served three terms in the Senate, where he worked closely with Gore even though a Republican. And Richardson served 14 years in the House, where he gained fame as Clinton's unofficial emissary EMISSARY. One who is sent from one power or government into another nation for the purpose of spreading false rumors and to cause alarm. He differs from a spy. (q.v.)  to negotiate the release of hostages abroad.

``I think it's a much better Cabinet than his first one for the very simple reason that these people have been together for four years. It is a very cohesive Cabinet. They know each other. They don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call each other. Collegiality col·le·gi·al·i·ty  
n.
1. Shared power and authority vested among colleagues.

2. Roman Catholic Church The doctrine that bishops collectively share collegiate power.
 is very important,'' said Shirley Anne Warshaw, a political scientist at Gettysburg College Coordinates:

Gettysburg College is a private national four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, adjacent to the famous battlefield.
 who specializes in studies of presidential Cabinets.

In Clinton's first term, Warshaw said, ``he brought together a government of strangers. He's now got a government of friends.''

If there is a downside to the shared experience of Clinton's new team, it may be that ``these are burnout Burnout

Depletion of a tax shelter's benefits. In the context of mortgage backed securities it refers to the percentage of the pool that has prepaid their mortgage.
 jobs. We know what they think already. We're probably not going to see a lot of fresh thinking,'' suggested G. Calvin MacKenzie, an expert on governmental management at Colby College Colby College, at Waterville, Maine; coeducational; est. 1813, opened 1818. The school, principally a liberal arts college, adopted its present name in 1899. Its library includes the papers of Edwin Arlington Robinson. .

No fresh theme or dominant agenda has emerged at the dawn of Clinton's second term, MacKenzie observed, suggesting that perhaps the absence of newly energized advisers at the top is partly to blame.

``It's just sort of a dull thud. Not that these are bad people. It's just that no impression has been made.''

Stephen Hess, who served Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford, offered perspective, however.

Clinton's new Cabinet ``may possibly be short on creativity, but it should be long on the tools of implementation'' such as running a bureaucracy and working with Congress. ``It is a Cabinet, unlike his first one, that is capable of hitting the ground running.''

Still diverse

The premium Clinton placed upon diversity in his first term - insisting on a Cabinet that ``looks like America'' - remains this time around.

His new Cabinet has four women, three African-Americans, two Latinos and one Republican. His first Cabinet boasted four African-Americans, three women and two Latinos.

Some presidents, notably Eisenhower, ran a kind of ``Cabinet government'' where the group collectively would debate and decide administration policy. Clinton doesn't operate that way.

He assembles the full Cabinet irregularly, roughly monthly in his first term, less often now. Most such full meetings focus on specific events, such as just before a State of the Union address “State of the Union” redirects here. For other uses, see State of the Union (disambiguation).
The State of the Union is an annual address in which the President of the United States reports on the status of the country, normally to a joint session of Congress (the
, to review themes and bring the team on board.

Clinton more typically meets Cabinet secretaries in subgroups focused on specific issues over which they share oversight. White House staff-run councils direct these meetings - on national security, economic affairs, domestic policy - to coordinate Cabinet involvement.

Before Clinton's recent trip to Helsinki to meet Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin, for example, he met with the heads of all agencies concerned with foreign affairs foreign affairs
pl.n.
Affairs concerning international relations and national interests in foreign countries.
 and national defense.

In addition, the president frequently taps his Cabinet officers one-on-one for advice, White House aides say - sometimes on topics beyond their agency's bounds.

``Secretary Riley is really close to him,'' said one top aide, referring to the holdover hold·o·ver  
n.
One that is held over from an earlier time: a political advisor who was a holdover from the Reagan era; a family tradition that is a holdover from my grandparents' childhood.

Noun 1.
 education chief who shares not only Clinton's commitment to schooling, but his background as a moderate Democratic Southern governor.

How Cabinet members compare

Who has clout and the president's ear? Who's independent? A quick guide to Clinton's Cabinet:

Most Powerful:

Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

Closest to Clinton:

Education Secretary Richard Riley

Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin

Closest to Vice President Al Gore:

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt

Commerce Secretary William Daley

HUD Hud (hd), a pre-Qur'anic prophet of Islam. Hud unsuccessfully exhorted his South Arabian people, the Ad, to worship the One God.  Secretary Andrew Cuomo

Closest to Hillary Rodham Rodham is an English surname which may refer to a number of persons or places. People
Family of Hillary Rodham Clinton
  • Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2008 presidential candidate and current junior U.S.
 Clinton:

HHS HHS Department of Health and Human Services.  Secretary Donna Shalala

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

Most Independent:

Attorney General Janet Reno

Rising Stars:

HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo

Commerce Secretary William Daley

Tends Most to Constituency Groups:

VA Secretary Jesse Brown

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman

A brief look at Clinton's cabinet

Who's Who in Clinton's Cabinet:

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

New. 59. Born in Czechoslovakia. U.S. ambassador to United Nations in first Clinton term. Hawkish. Knack for making headlines. Cultivates Congress.

Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin

Holdover. 58. Longtime co-chairman of Goldman Sachs & Co. investment bankers. Millionaire. Self-effacing, self-assured authority on all matters financial and economic makes him among Clinton's most trusted advisers.

Defense Secretary William Cohen

New. 56. Three-term GOP senator from Maine, lone Republican in Clinton's new Cabinet. Fiercely independent. Never served in military, but sat on Senate Armed Services Committee The term Armed Services Committee could refer to:
  • U.S. House Committee on Armed Services
  • U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
. Lacks close ties at White House and Pentagon.

Attorney General Janet Reno

Holdover. 58. Former state prosecutor for metro Miami (Dade County), Fla. Fiercely independent. Keen sense of integrity. Touchy relationship with White House.

Commerce Secretary William Daley

New. 48. Lawyer, banker. Son of legendary former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) He served for 21 years as the undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses. , and brother of city's current mayor. Spearheaded campaign for 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. Pragmatist. Effective.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt

Holdover. 59. Former governor of Arizona, unsuccessful 1988 presidential candidate. Outspoken, respected. Champions environment. Angered Western commercial interests with aggressive federal land-use policies early in first Clinton term, but since has settled in.

HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo

New. 39. Son of former New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
 Gov. Mario Cuomo. Assistant HUD secretary in first Clinton term. Previously worked through private groups to provide housing to homeless. Known for his passion and forcefulness. Considered brash by some.

HHS Secretary Donna Shalala

Holdover. 56. Former chancellor, University of Wisconsin. Outspoken liberal, team player. Swallowed hard to accept welfare reform. Respected administrator. Close to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Education Secretary Richard Riley

Holdover. 64. Former Democratic governor of South Carolina The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. . Moderate reformer. Close to Clinton, advises on range of issues beyond education.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman

Holdover. 52. Former Democratic congresman from Kansas. Steadied agency after first Clinton secretary, Mike Espy, forced out over ethics investigation. Smoothed 1996 passage of massive agriculture reform law.

Energy Secretary Federico Pena

New. 49. Former mayor of Denver. Secretary of transportation first Clinton term. Most famous for declaring ValuJet safe after last May's crash into Everglades, shortly before the discount airline was grounded. Selected for DOE at 11th hour to add Hispanic to new Cabinet. Lacks background in energy issues.

Labor Secretary-designate Alexis Herman

New. 49. Initial opposition fading, Senate confirmation appears certain. African-American, feminist, former head of Women's Bureau at Labor. Ran White House office of public liaison in first Clinton term. Close to late Ron Brown. Not AFL-CIO's first choice, but acceptable to labor, Democrats, Congress.

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater

New. 41. Chaired Arkansas State Highway Commission under then-Gov. Clinton in 1992. Ran Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," The Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway  in first Clinton term. Respected administrator, African-American. Close to key committee chairmen in Congress.

CAPTION(S):

2 Boxes

Box: (1) A brief look at Clinton's Cabinet (See text)

(2) How Cabinet members compare (See text)
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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Apr 6, 1997
Words:1465
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