http://nypost.com/news/nationalnews/33068.htm_________________________________________________________October 31, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to undertake a major revamp of his Cabinet if elected to a second term, with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge tipped to leave Washington.
If Kerry wins the White House, he would like to include New York's high-flying Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and independently minded Republican John McCain in his lineup, sources said.
Although Bush and Kerry are gripped in a fierce electoral contest, key advisers for both sides are spending some time considering the makeup of their potential Cabinet teams.
On the Bush side, one of the most likely departures is Powell, whose stature has been diminished substantially since the invasion of Iraq and whose wife was never eager for him to enter politics anyway.
Aides say Powell, one of the few top-level advisers known to have differed with Bush on foreign-policy issues, is eager to leave the administration.
"If Powell leaves, there goes the one voice that has been dissenting. It will be interesting to watch whether Bush appoints a neo-con like himself, or gets someone like Powell," said Clyde Wilcox, a government professor at Georgetown University.
Bush could decide to move one of his closest aides, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, into Powell's slot.
Former Republican Sen. John Danforth, a diplomatic trouble-shooter for Bush and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is also considered a top candidate to replace Powell, particularly if Rice decides to return to academic life in California.
Sources told The Post that if Ridge leaves, one of the front-runners to replace him could be former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who helped the president by doing hard yards in Iraq this year.
Despite criticism over Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to stay on, at least for part of a second term, to continue his reshaping of America's military capabilities.
Bush seems likely to allow a graceful exit for Treasury Secretary John Snow, particularly after getting the president in hot water in the key swing state of Ohio by saying job losses were a "myth."
The job could go to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, or U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
Some say Rudy Giuliani would be a natural to replace John Ashcroft as attorney general, although the former New York mayor may prefer to concentrate on planning a 2008 presidential run.
Kerry quietly appointed Jim Johnson recently to help him look over resumes to create a transition team and a brand new Cabinet if he wins.
Johnson has been meeting occasionally with Kerry and is said to have developed a short list of potential candidates.
Some Democratic insiders say a Kerry presidency could see former Colorado Sen. Tim Wirth as secretary of state, while others say veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke will take the job he has long coveted.
Kerry remains hopeful he could convince Republican Sen. John McCain to take on the defense-secretary job, although the wily former POW has tried to throw cold water on the idea.
Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, a sharp critic of how Bush handled the war in Iraq, is also a possibility for the job under Kerry.
Former Clinton administration spokesman Jamie Rubin is seen by sources close to the Kerry campaign as a likely candidate to step into the national-security adviser's role.
Spitzer, who has built a sterling reputation taking on Wall Street, has the credentials to sign on as Kerry's attorney general, although he may be eyeing a 2006 run for governor.
Chairman Alan Greenspan is expected to depart the Federal Reserve Board when his board term expires on Jan. 31, 2006. Democrats see Clinton's highly regarded treasury secretary, Robert Rubin, as a Fed chair.
If Bush wins, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, William Donaldson, may stay on for a few months, but many say he will resign in 2005. If Kerry wins, a Democratic SEC commissioner, Harvey Goldschmid, could move up.
_________________________________________________________Thoughts?
