Posted by on 11/20 at 11:01 AM

Thanks to the shamelessness of journalists who don’t have any qualms whatsoever about using anonymous sources, we’re learning more about President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet choices.

You already know that Hillary Clinton is being vetted for Secretary of State.

Former assistant attorney general Eric Holder is reportedly Obama’s pick for attorney general. “Folks in the know who won’t give their names” say his appointment is all but a done deal, and that the Obama transition team is simply waiting for the vetting to conclude before making the announcement.

Holder served as assistant AG in Bill Clinton’s administration under AG Janet Reno. I haven’t Wikied Holder, but I expect that in addition to his musings on racial profiling, interrogation tactics and Marc Rich being dragged up in his confirmation hearings, he’ll probably be asked a thing or two about a boy named Elián and an incident known simply as Waco.

I had said here last week that I expected Obama to pick Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano for attorney general. I got Napolitano right, but not in the right spot: Obama is reportedly eyeing her for Secretary of Homeland Security, along with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle for Health and Human Services chief and Penny Pritzker for commerce secretary.

Here is an exact copy of my reaction when I saw that news:

????

First, I’m not sure what being governor of Arizona has to do with homeland security. Wait a minute—enforcing immigration law, you say? I’ll give you that Napolitano has lots of experience with immigration law, but her record is very much a mixed bag. Expect this to be an issue in her confirmation hearings.

Why wouldn’t Obama go with U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, a noted intelligence authority? She would bring the same demographic Napolitano would (presuming that that’s a consideration for Obama), and she has a lot more and a lot better experience.

Then we have Tom Daschle.

“Folks in the know who won’t give their names” say that Daschle has worked out a deal such that he won’t just be implementing the Obama health care plan; he’ll be the point man on writing it.

Hmm.

I wasn’t really politically aware yet when Hillary Clinton (see above) spearheaded her husband’s health care initiatives in his first term, so I don’t know a lot about how Daschle played in to its doomed fate. But I do know that the initiative itself was a high-profile failure.

You can read some about Daschle’s record here, and you can check out a book he wrote about the health care crisis here. (Check out some of the folks who provided “advance praise” for Daschle’s book.)

So I’m not sure what to think about Daschle’s pick. I guess I just have to be satisfied that it’s not this guy.

Interestingly, Daschle’s wife is a lobbyist. But not just any lobbyist! A lobbyist who is a partner in a firm that does work for clients on—guess!—HEALTH CARE! She’s reportedly given her notice and will open her own lobbying firm, to focus on transportation, by the end of the year.

Finally, we have Pritzker, whose qualifications to lead the Commerce Department seem to be that she A) founded a retirement community, B) founded an airport parking business, C) chairs a credit reporting agency and D) is a philanthopist. Subqualifications include that she is from Chicago and—oh, yes—she ran Obama’s finance committee, which shattered all conceivable records in presidential fundraising.

Pritzker’s bio says that she “delegates day-to-day management, but is always available as a coach and advisor.“

Oh, good. For a minute there, I was thinking this appointment might be a payback.

As some have already noticed, we have a bunch of people from the Clinton Administration lining up to serve with Obama. Is that change? I guess it is—from the current administration.

In addition, we have folks with lobbyist ties filling the ranks. I thought we were beyond that, too.

I know what you’re thinking. So what if people served with Clinton; if they have good experience and they are good at what they do, why not?

And as far as lobbyists go, it’s nearly impossible to populate an administration without people who are former lobbyists or who have lobbying ties.

I know. But no one twisted Obama’s arm and forced him to promise change and an administration where lobbyists would no longer write the rules.

Stay tuned for more on Obama’s Cabinet picks.