A Glimpse at Incoming Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

"In plucking his Transportation Secretary from the ranks of the GOP, Barack Obama wasn't breaking tradition but extending it. In 2000, George W. Bush tapped Democrat Norman Mineta for the post-the lone cross-aisle appointment of his Administration. There's reason to believe LaHood - a veteran Illinois pol who counts Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, as a close friend - will play far more than a token role in the incoming Democratic regime. At Transportation, LaHood will shepherd the massive public works program Obama announced on Dec. 6 as the centerpiece of a plan to jumpstart the economy by creating millions of jobs. He's also a litmus test for Obama's post-partisan campaign pledges."