Me, personally I don't care about the faces of the administration. I want minorities to be in a position to implement policy and build power. Power and policy are the way to true equality, not the faces of the administration. That looks good but didn't work out at all with Bush and only minimally with Clinton.

Let's be honest under both the Clinton and Bush administrations federal contracting dollars for black contractors increased due to the efforts of black administrators standing in the gap. I for one, will be watching to see who Barack Obama selects for key Secretary positions. His selection of the Attorney General is a good start , I'm sure there will be more. I hope all Jack and Jill readers will be watching too.

PS, Thanks Jill for the shout out.

And, these are positions that have never seen a Black person ever in those roles. I think that is very important to remember.

Our new President just appointed a brother today to be the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Let's not sleep on this really vital appointment. And yesterday, Melody Barnes was on that stage as an integral player in his Economic Team. This is some serious stuff, family. Unprecedented.

Those are distinctly different animals.

I was a Clinton appointee in the 1990's. I in no way identify myself as a Clintonista. I just don't want us to blur these definitions. There is an entire generation of Democratic or Independent policy types who cut their teeth in the Clinton Administration because that was our first opporutnity to serve in government. That doesn't necessarily mean our allegiance is with the Clintons. Let's please try to separate those issues.

Me, personally I don't care about the faces of the administration. I want minorities to be in a position to implement policy and build power. Power and policy are the way to true equality, not the faces of the administration. That looks good but didn't work out at all with Bush and only minimally with Clinton.

Let's be honest under both the Clinton and Bush administrations federal contracting dollars for black contractors increased due to the efforts of black administrators standing in the gap. I for one, will be watching to see who Barack Obama selects for key Secretary positions. His selection of the Attorney General is a good start , I'm sure there will be more. I hope all Jack and Jill readers will be watching too.

PS, Thanks Jill for the shout out.

And, these are positions that have never seen a Black person ever in those roles. I think that is very important to remember.

Our new President just appointed a brother today to be the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Let's not sleep on this really vital appointment. And yesterday, Melody Barnes was on that stage as an integral player in his Economic Team. This is some serious stuff, family. Unprecedented.

Those are distinctly different animals.

I was a Clinton appointee in the 1990's. I in no way identify myself as a Clintonista. I just don't want us to blur these definitions. There is an entire generation of Democratic or Independent policy types who cut their teeth in the Clinton Administration because that was our first opporutnity to serve in government. That doesn't necessarily mean our allegiance is with the Clintons. Let's please try to separate those issues.

Keep in mind that diversity does not have to be race alone. It is equally important to have people with different reflections of America as it relates to gender, class, disability, sexual orientation, and academic standing (would be nice to have a couple of folks with a PhD or two, but that's just my bias from growing up in the Ebony Tower, LOL!)

There are fourteen cabinet positions – he has about eight more opportunities to name another sista or brotha to a Cabinet position, just like he has opportunities to name more Latinos and Asians to Cabinet positions, too. We want Obama to be bold, but it remains to be seen as to whether or not he has it in him.

I'm more concerned about too many Clintonistas in his Cabinet at this point.

Though regarding Bush Jr's appointments, all they served to be were Ethnic faces in High places while doing Bush's bidding and subverting the laws and the Constitution they swore to uphold.

Gonzales disgraced himself in allowing the politicization of the Justice Department and then lying about it on Capitol Hill when confronted with EVIDENCE.

Condoleezza failed to impress upon Bush that Bin Laden was tired of playing with America and was determined to attack – she delivered the memo but didn't tell Bush “Maybe you need to cut your vacation short to go back to DC and deal with this.”

Colin lied to the UN to help Bush get his WAR ON.

Rod Paige gave us NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND – and every child who's parent can't afford to send them to Sidwell Friends or Georgetown Day, Holton Arms or St. Albans, and have to deal in the public education system are ALL BEING LEFT BEHIND.

Elaine Chao got in the Labor Department so she could bust up Labor Unions.

Christie Todd Whitman was in EPA and was forced to lie about the air quality after 9/11. Being a woman of ethics, she QUIT and wrote a book about it.

Lurita Doan used her position as GSA Administrator not to supply the Government Agencies with goods and services, which is GSA's mission; but to figure out how to reward employees who helped Bush get re-elected, and penalized employees who didn't give a damn about Bush's re-election. And we got to publicly see the GOP not protect one of their alleged “Own”; but because she was a sista, they allowed Congress to fling her under the bus and demand she be fired.

Affirmative Action can and does work – when there is no hidden agenda to set it up to fail. Bush's picks set up the argument to get rid of it because his picks did what he told them to do – thereby setting them up for failure on a grand scale.