When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on January 20, he’s leaving a seat on the Senate open. So is Hillary Clinton, and there has been a lot of talk about who should replace these legislators. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s name is flying around political circles in Chi-town as the most qualified replacement, and Bill Clinton’s name has been mentioned to replace his wife. Jackson may make sense, but I don’t know how I feel about having Bill Clinton back in the mix. I think what we learned watching him campaign for Hillary was that he hasn’t learned any restraint: his mouth can still get him in a lot of trouble, and it can also weasel him out of it. “Slick Willy” is as slick as ever—maybe slicker. I don’t know if we can stand another  term of his antics.

That said, he brings considerable swagger to the job, and let’s face it—his credentials are impeccable. Neither Jackson or Clinton have a say—these appointments would come from On High—but the other names that pop up for these seats aren’t as familiar to most to us, and don’t resonate the way that these do. Not that it’s a popularity contest, but there’s something to be said for bringing the people’s confidence with you, as opposed to having to earn it the hard way. What do you think?

Would Jackson Jr. and Bill Clinton make good replacements in the Senate? Who would you prefer to see in those seats?  Tell us here.

President-elect Barack Obama has locked his team into place and plans to make it official today.

Sen. Hillary Clinton will be the Secretary of State. Bill is thought to be a liability, but she’ll be in charge of keeping him in check, the same way she has been for all these years. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will keep his seat, and this makes sense. Obama needs someone who knows the lay of the land without much tutoring to keep the country safe. Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, in that same spirit, is on as the National Security Adviser. Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder is in as attorney general, but we’ve known this for weeks. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano represents Secretary of Homeland Security and Susan Rice is his United Nations Ambassador. At this point, he’s almost named a third of his whole cabinet—only the intelligence piece is left to fill out. Navy admiral Dennis Blair is the name on the top of that list, because he doesn’t have as much baggage as John Brennan, who provoked a gag reflex from the left.

Obama’s caught a lot of flack for picking some old heads, but it makes sense that he’s mixing and matching them in key positions. Players from the Bush and Clinton administration are popping up everywhere. Every change doesn’t have to be a wholesale makeover—just like in a game of chess, repositioning certain key pieces can make all the difference.

Now that it’s official, how do you think Team Obama’s shaping up?  Tell us here.

Images courtesy of gettyimages.com.

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One.  TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)