It is a quadrennial Beltway ritual: an incoming administration's selection of cabinet secretaries, top department officials and senior White House staff. The Obama presidency-in-waiting is cranking at full throttle on this essential assignment, and the sniping already has begun.

Obama and his advisers face a daunting task. Their successful election campaign was built on the concept of change, but some observers contend that the people they're selecting for positions seem like too much of the same. The charge oversimplifies the situation.

This is not, we hasten to point out, merely a matter of inside-politics sport for the Washington intelligentsia. With the nation facing urgent, epic challenges from, most especially, the worst economic quagmire in a generation, having sharp minds and competent managers working on the task would be welcome change enough. The Obama administration must be positioned to act quickly, decisively and effectively to protect the nation's economy and security.

The operational machinery and organizational skills of the Obama camp, which managed a complex and sophisticated election campaign, now are being applied to the serious business of finding and evaluating potential top officials. There is no shortage of information about who, what and why:

— Eric Holder Jr., the No. 2 man at the Justice Department during President Bill Clinton's tenure and a former judge appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, is poised to become the first African-American U.S. attorney general. He is well known and highly respected in Washington power circles, but a fresh face to most of America.

— Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader from South Dakota and a supporter of the Clintons' ill-fated health reform plan in the mid-1990s, has accepted an offer to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services.

— Janet Napolitano, the Arizona governor who previously served as attorney general of her border state and as a U.S. attorney, is set to be nominated for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She is no Washington insider and would bring a fresh perspective to border security measures against illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

— The most robust speculation in Washington has centered on the possible nomination of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to be the nation's top diplomat as head of the State Department. Hillary Clinton, of course, was Obama's chief opponent for the Democratic nomination for president. Recent news reports have indicated that Obama will announce his selection of her — and her acceptance of the job — shortly after Thanksgiving, but it would not be surprising if the announcement came sooner.

One of the hurdles to her nomination has been questions about possible conflicts of interest of her husband, the former president, in connection with various business and philanthropic interests. Those questions appear to have been resolved, at least to the satisfaction of Obama.

There's an element of alchemy to a president-elect's selection of Cabinet officers, and the results often prove unpredictable. No matter how carefully he proceeds, Obama will not bowl a perfect score.

During the campaign, he promised bipartisanship, and among the Republicans his team has interviewed is Brent Scowcroft, who served Republican presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush and provided unofficial counsel to several others.

Obama should deliver on his bipartisan promise, although it would be unreasonable to expect that his appointees would include those who oppose his fundamental approach to government.

Regardless of his choices, the politicking will continue. But the best hope for our country to withstand and recover from this economic collapse is levelheaded, capable national leaders primed to act. This is no time for on-the-job training or indecision. The early evidence suggests that Obama's team is relying on the right criteria: experience, expertise, a record of public accomplishments and overall competence.

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