Which Republican will Obama name to cabinet?

NY Times Caucus Blog:

In a wide-ranging interview that will air Sunday night on the CBS program, “60 Minutes,” President-elect Barack Obama said he would choose at least one Republican for a position in his cabinet but declined to hint at who he had in mind.

“Will there be Republicans?” asked Steve Kroft, the “60 Minutes” interviewer. “Yes,” Mr. Obama replied. But when pressed, the president-elect would not name the G.O.P leaders he is considering nor did he tip his cards about which cabinet office he saw as a good fit for a member of the opposing party.

Mr. Obama, however, seemed receptive to the idea of surrounding himself with a so-called “team of rivals” — a notion that has taken on greater significance as speculation swirls about whether he would possibly pick Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to be his secretary of state.

...

If he names Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense he will set off a war with Republicans instead of making peace with them. If he feels he has to find a spot for Hagel, put him in Agriculture where he will do less harm. His best choice would be to keep Gates at Defense, but his kook base might rebel at that idea.

A Clinton appointment at State would not be that bad. He could do worse and probably will. Richardson's Iraq policy was actually worse than Obama's which is hard to do. Of all the prominent Democrats Clinton has been the most sensible aside from her comments to Gen. Petraeus on the surge.

Perhaps he will park Colin Powell in Transportation giving him a nominal Republican in an out of the way post. But, the way Democrats are going the Transportation secretary may wind up running much of the auto industry.