— Secretary of education: William H. Cosby Jr., Ph.D.

Known first as a comedian and then as an actor, Bill Cosby's passion for education is well-documented and lauded. His outspokenness about evident failures in public education — whether teachers' competence and pay or passive parenting — has been controversial but spot on.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Temple University, along with a master's and a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts.

If cool Cos says he will leave no child behind, he means it.

— U.S. attorney general: Harry Truman wasn't the only Missourian who knew how to give 'em hell. Kansas City's Claire McCaskill can, too. Just ask the airline industry, those in charge of Veterans Affairs, and so on who came to the senator's attention.

After John Ashcroft's stint as Bush's first AG, Missouri needs to show that it can send to Washington someone who is obsessed with the law instead of covering naked statutory bosoms. Ashcroft got the Justice Department post after Missouri voters picked a dead man, the great Mel Carnahan, for the Senate over him. That ought to tell you something.

Since going to the Senate, McCaskill has shown great political dexterity, strength and has been unafraid to take on special interests. She smiles, but she means business. (If she and Obama weren't both Midwesterners, she would be up for veep consideration.)

— The newly created secretary of environment: Al Gore. Duh!

— Secretary of the interior: Robert Kennedy Jr.

He's a conservationist, hunter and 100 percent green. Plus, being a Kennedy makes him cool. He believes wildlife and the land can coexist. Imagine!

He'll cut through layers of distracting red tape to strip mine territorial disputes to their bare essence.

He would take a good, hard look at global warming's effect on our parks, rivers and wildlife and come up with a sensible, doable plan to solve this problem. He will explain to this department what LEED means and why Native Americans deserve more from this country than to be in charge of reservation casinos.

— Secretary of state: If he doesn't become Obama's running mate, New Mexico's Gov. Bill Richardson fits well here. He brings years of quiet and effective diplomacy. He performs with underestimated competency and with measurable outcomes.

While seeking the presidency, Richardson had to skip some campaign obligations to tend to some diplomatic appointments at the request of President Bush.

During the Democratic debates, Richardson also tried to broker peace among Democrats who were attacking each other instead of realizing that their show of disunity was bad for the party and good for the GOP.

— Secretary of defense: Under President George W. Bush, the Department of Defense was unofficially renamed the Department of Defense and Offense. Bush's policy of pre-emption, celebrated with shock, awe and the invasion of Iraq, changed the name and also the mission of this important executive department.

Bush's first defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had a bunkerlike mentality. Rummy's references to Old Europe dated him and U.S. policies. His refusal to insist that those reporting to the Pentagon adhere to Article 2 of the Geneva Conventions and other such treaties was largely responsible for detainee abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib, Gitmo and private contractors.

Surely, Anthony Zinni, Marine and retired four-star general, could do better. This former commander of the U.S. Central Command was among the first generals to cry foul over the Bush administration's bad judgment about Iraq and other foreign- and defense-policy blunders.

Obama needs someone who is a straight talker, not an ambitious suck-up stuck in a time warp. He needs someone who doesn't need to wear the medals and flag pins to prove how much he loves and would defend this great nation.

With Zinni, Obama gets a war vet with gravitas and common sense. Hoo-Rah!

Rhonda Chriss Lokeman (rlokeman@creators.com) is a contributing editor to The Kansas City Star. To find out more about Rhonda Chriss Lokeman and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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