Ronald Reagan and the Dream Cabinet

       On the occasion of his 100th birthday, we have had a little burst of interest in the career of President Reagan.  Seems like lots of folks are using his continuing popularity in the public mind -- not so much to claim his mantle, it seems to me, as to piggyback their own agendae upon his memory.  But be that as it may.

       Our late 40th president was well-known for his sense of humor.  He seemed corny to some ("I hope you're all Republicans"), and he outraged others ("We begin bombing in five minutes"), but I have long felt that any one of his well placed jokes poking fun at the Soviet government was easily worth an armored division, or even a squadron of Stealth bombers in the effort to end the Cold War.  To a great extent, he was able to laugh the Soviet Union off the stage of world history, rather than provoking some damned World War 3.  (I know that really irritated our military-industrial complex, but I rather liked the mostly peaceful way it came to an end.)

       Which brings me to his idle joke about his "dream cabinet."  Reminiscing about his Hollywood days, he thought how nice it would be to have some fellow actors in his cabinet -- John Wayne as Secretary of State, Clint Eastwood at Defense, Jack Benny at Treasury, and Groucho Marx at Education. "Even presidents can't have everything," he laughed.  All things considered, I think that any and all of them would have been not only fun, but clearly superior to the ghastly parade of slimy hacks that have filled practically all of the offices of Washington DC since the invention of national political parties.

       In honor of the Great Communicator, I thought it would be fun to populate this post with nominations for a good government in DC. (I'm not being as tongue-in-cheek as you might suppose:  consider the "real-world" alternatives.)  Your suggestions of course are most welcome!

       We could have Alex Jones to head up the CIA.  Would that be great, or what!

       Judge Andrew Napolitano for the first vacancy on the Supreme Court.  Preferably Chief.

       John Whitehead at Department of Justice. He has headed up the Rutherford Institute for about 30 years.

       John Taylor Gatto at Department of Education.  Former New York Teacher of the Year:  see what he is saying now.

       Catharine Austin Fitts at HUD.  She tried to clean it up during Bush 41 and had a good start; give her another time at bat.

       Franklin Sanders at IRS.

       Mike Shedlock (Mish) at SEC.

       Wes Jackson and Joel Salatin at Agriculture. (I know I'm skipping Wendell Berry.  In honor of his preference for staying at the farm, let's make him Librarian of Congress, with the mandate of reading and writing whatever he likes.  But if he wants Agriculture, it's his.)

       Cynthia McKinney at the UN.  Yes; she's right for all the right reasons.

       Lew Rockwell running the Council of Economic Advisors.

       Dr. Ron Paul at Treasury. (Or, Chairman of the Fed . . . or both.)

       Jesse Ventura at State.  Or if we bump him up a notch, then I'd like Web Tarpley or Eric Margolis.

       Jeff Gitomer at Commerce.

       Fred Reed at Veterans Affairs.

       Chuck Baldwin at Homeland Security.

       Seriously, I believe that every one of those named above is a fundamentally truthful and principled person who has already shown great leadership, and any one of them would be clearly superior to their counterparts -- either in this current Democratic administration, or the previous Republican one.

       We still have openings at Defense, Transportation, HHS, Energy, National Endowment for the Arts (and for the Humanities), FBI, and what else am I forgetting?

       Oh yes, President and Vice.  Well, help me out here; but my serious choice right now would be Stephen Covey, and let him pick his running mate.

*       *       *

       Suggestions and revisions always welcome.  This is an open convention!