Barack Obama Appoints New Black Staffers - Whats Next?

Barack Obama announced a solid economic recovery team to fix the mess George W. Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. created. He has also appointed a number of black women to key staff positions. AAPP: This is good news. I'm hoping to see more appointments that broaden the range of people who work in the White House. OK, let me say it clearer. I'm hoping to see more blacks in the white house. I'm reminded when Bill Clinton was elected to his first four-year term in 1992, one of the first things he did was appoint Blacks to his Cabinet. Among the Black Cabinet appointees during his two terms in office were Ron Brown, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Mike Espy, Secretary of Agriculture; Alexis Herman, Secretary of Labor; Hazel O'Leary, Secretary of Energy; Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation; Jesse Brown, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, who was succeeded by Togo West, and Dr. Jocelyn Elders, U.S. Surgeon General, who was succeeded by Dr. David Satcher. Clinton also appointed nine Blacks as assistants to the president--the highest rank in the White House. Among those appointments were Ben Johnson, director of the President's Initiative for One America; Maggie Williams, the first lady's chief of staff; Alexis Herman, director of public liaison, White House, who later became labor secretary; Minyon Moore, director, political affairs; Terry Edmonds, director of speech writing; Thurgood Marshall Jr., director of Cabinet Affairs; Mark Lindsey, director of administration, and Bob Nash, director of personnel. Let's hope Barack Obama can at least do the same or better. Let's talk about it tonight on African American Political Pundit's, Political Slugfest. Tonight!