Of President-elect Bush's selections for cabinet posts, Sen. John Ashcroft has received the most attention, particularly for his conservative record on abortion and his questionable handling of racial issues in his state of Missouri. While Sen. Ashcroft should indeed be scrutinized, as he is taking the position of the highest law enforcement official in the country, other cabinet selections should not be exempt from similar investigation due to this focus on Sen. Ashcroft. One of Bush's picks in particular, Sen. Spencer Abraham of Michigan, who has been chosen for energy secretary, has been left out of the scope of political inquiry almost entirely. This is unfortunate, because at a time when states like California are dealing with enormous power shortages, and the nation still suffering from high gasoline prices, the Secretary of Energy needs to be in a position to handle such problems.
Unfortunately for the nation, it does not seem that Sen. Abraham is ready or even suitable for the job. As a senator for one term, Abraham made his name not by focusing on energy issues, but rather by concentrating on immigration issues. However, Abraham did not ignore matters concerning the Department of Energy completely. In fact, he twice co-sponsored a bill that would have had an enormous impact on the department " one that would have eliminated it all together. Abraham twice backed a bill that would have abolished the department, and transferred its responsibilities to another part of government. Fortunately for him, the bill did not pass; if it had, he would not have been tapped for the post of secretary of energy because the position would not have existed.
Thus the question must be raised: Why is a man who wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy soon going to hold its top position? One answer might be that he has changed, that he now feels that there should be a Department of Energy. But such an answer would only elicit another question: Has he changed because he has been picked to hold the department's top position, or because he truly believes the department is a necessary part of government? The simplest answer is that Sen. Abraham, like most politicians, is just playing politics, willing to abandon, reinvent, or take up new positions on issues so that he himself will benefit. In this case, Abraham is embracing the cabinet position that less than a few years ago he sought to abolish.
Another answer might be that Bush is trying to help Abraham, who was defeated in November in his re-election bid, stay in government. In selecting Abraham and Ashcroft, who was also defeated in the November elections, Bush may be hoping to keep alive the political careers of two politicians who otherwise would be without jobs. Both men were involved in difficult campaigns, losing their respective elections by very narrow margins. Perhaps Bush picked them as a sort of confirmation of the "New Republican" party that doesn't abandon its fallen candidates.
But whatever the reason for the selection of the two questionable picks, by choosing Abraham, Bush is sending a message that a candidate's record on issues pertinent to the position being considered is irrelevant in the selection process. It may turn out that Bush thinks that saving a party member from joblessness is more important than having a man suitable for the position. Sadly, it seems that reason and thoughtfulness is no longer a necessary part of the cabinet selection process. And in a year when reason and thoughtfulness, coupled with bipartisanship, may be the only thing to help the country heal after a divisive election, Bush's selection of Abraham is especially disconcerting.
