|
|
Obama's pick for agriculture secretaryBy Larry Dreiling Finally, after 22 months of campaigning, Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States. Now what? Well, to start with, Obama must begin to fill the thousands of political appointments his administration needs to make all that audacity of hope stuff become reality, or else lose in 2012. (If he doesn't lose Congress in 2010 first.) For those of us who follow farm policy, it's natural to play a guessing game as to who'll be Obama's pick as secretary of agriculture. Let's first figure out a little bit of Obama's personal thoughts on what kind of ag boss he'll bring in. The best way to discover that is through his ag mentor and fellow Illinois senator, Dick Durbin. As one of my K Street friends said to me recently, "You may not think so, but Obama gets it, really gets it when it comes to farm policy. He's learned from Dick Durbin, who once was chair of the Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee. He understands how agriculture will be a part of the energy economy. While he may be in favor of inheritance taxes, he wants to increase tax breaks for value-added agriculture cooperatives." In other words, pretty basic boilerplate for a Democrat who wants to work with Republicans to get things done. So who is to execute this approach as ag boss? Here's a few picks. One rule I'll impose on myself: Nobody will be selected who hasn't spent at least a couple of years as an elected official or who does not hold a doctorate in agricultural economics. History has shown (to me, at least) that the best ag secretaries have fit one of these characteristics. That's even with five great farm editors or a smattering of "real farmers" who have held the position. Mere lobbyists, who have been touted elsewhere, won't make it, given as how Obama didn't take money from political action committees. Specifically, we're looking for someone who's had experience working in or with Congress, who knows what the heck is going on down on the farm and can talk to a wide array of people about how our nation's food, fiber and timber system really works. Having actually read Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, I can see the new president lacks Bill Clinton's early first term hubris in thinking he can just ramrod everything he wants and the heck with the idea of offending people in the process. That means from the git-go that Obama won't pick any Clinton administration retreads unless they proved themselves to be truly competent. Obama also will follow the Nixonian dictum of "run with the base, govern from the center." It will be his only way to keep his head. That said, Obama needs to find someone with Jardine's academic smarts, Freeman's ability to bring city and country people together, Glickman's managerial and legislative liaison skills, and Wilson's innovative savvy to handle this job that has some very specific tasks attached to it. First pick: Former Rep. Charlie Stenholm of Texas. Stenholm, 70, served 13 terms and cooperatively worked with Republicans like Pat Roberts of Kansas and fellow Texan Larry Combest to formulate farm bills. His farm pedigree is impeccable, as constituents often told stories of calling Stenholm's cell phone while he was on the cotton stripper back home on the farm near Abilene. Since his seat was gerrymandered out of existence in 2004, Stenholm has been a lobbyist, working to stop the federal horse slaughter ban. Second pick: Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa. Vilsack, 57, served two terms as Iowa governor. He's known for his work on ethanol promotion and on cracking down on rural methamphetamine manufacturing. While he endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, Vilsack became an enthusiastic Obama backer during the general election campaign. Third pick: Dr. Keith Collins, former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Long before Collins retired Jan. 3 after a nearly 30-year career at USDA, a long line of public officials, farm group leaders and even media offered praise for Collins' abilities. Collins played a key role in the development of almost every piece of national agricultural legislation since the mid-1980s, advising secretaries of agriculture ranging from Block to Schafer. There are many who believe there was no one person within USDA more knowledgeable about such a wide range of farm and rural policy issues than Keith Collins. Professionalism trumps politics, here. Full disclosure: This reporter was chairman of the American Agricultural Editors' Association's Service Awards Committee that selected Collins for the group's 2007 Distinguished Service Award. There may be others out there that Obama may select, but one of these individuals listed above ought to be able to help the new president take food, fiber and timber policy to a new level, assisting producers to do their best. Larry Dreiling can be reached by phone at 785-628-1117 or by e-mail at ldreiling@aol.com. 11/10/08 Date: 11/5/08
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2011. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
|
