Nominations should not be made for political reasons

It has recently been revealed that President Obama offered the position of Secretary of Education to Colin Powell before nominating Arne Duncan, the CEO of the Chicago public school system. Colin Powell is the former Secretary of State under George Bush (43), former National Security Adviser (1987-1989), and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993). Before this he was a four star general. He is known to be a moderate Republican, advocating for a repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, among other things. Why on earth did Obama nominate him to be Secretary of Education if he has no experience in the matter?

President Obama, upon taking office in 2009, began to nominate moderate Republicans to high up positions within his Administration. Ray LaHood, a moderate Republican House member from Illinois, was nominated and confirmed as the Secretary of Transportation. He served on the House Transporation and Infrastructure Committee, though held no other qualifications for the position. John Huntsman, the moderate Republican senator from Utah, was nominated and confirmed to become the Ambassador to China. Though he is fluent in Mandarin, many viewed this nomination as a potential way to remove a strong 2012 presidential election contender from the country.

That is not to say the picks have all been chosen for political considerations. Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense under Bush and now Obama, was widely regarded as a strong man for the position. John McHugh, a moderate Republican from upstate New York, was nominated as the Secretary of the Army after being the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. These were very deserved picks.

For the most part, the Obama Administration has clearly been selecting moderate Republicans and placing them in his administration, far from where they could have an effect on the direction and policy of their party. This is especially true of John Huntsman, who was a vocal critic of the rightward swing of the GOP until his nomination. Preventing a Republican messiah from appearing is an effective way to prevent an upswing from their 18 point approval ratings. It is not, however, an effective governing strategy. Colin Powell was not qualified to be the Secretary of Education and Ray LaHood was equally unqualified to be Secretary of Transportation. Politics will only get you so far, but governing well will get you even farther.