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Clinton, Kerry. Whitehouse, Webb et al
First of all
They are vastly different roles. while all these senators have policy chops, a great bit of the role of Cabinet offices is administrative. Simply because they are smart people does not mean they are suited for jobs,=.
Secondly, Smart people can advise a president without being part of the cabinet. Policy can be developed on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. We need the people in the Senate to push through the Democratic Agenda in the Committees and on the floor. Besides Senators have large egos by nature, While Obama does not need sycophants, he also doe not need the headaches of controlling the message and people "going rogue". Remember ALL SENATORS WANT TO BE PRESIDENT...SOMEDAY.
Third, it drains the Senate of Democrats, even if they are in relatively safe seats. There is a pecking order on the Hill and the value in moving the people down the street is in the greater scheme of things rather marginal.
Finally, if you want to pull anyone out of the Senate we should be talking about GOPers. Voinovich is a short-termer given ho Blue Ohio is turning. Make him something Manufacturing or Infrastructure Czar. Ask Mel Martinez to run the Commerce Department. Ask Lieberman to be in charge of, I dunno....Make him Postmaster General.
Look I understand this is a parlor game, but the idea of asking Democratic Senators to serve in another way is just a bad idea all around. I don't think we need them, any of them, to join the administration.
In fact, I don't know if there is much precedent for it/
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