ASG Cabinet: steady work, no controversy
Tina Korbe
Issue date: 2/25/09 Section: News
As President Barack Obama selects his Cabinet members from among the nation's best educated and most prominent political figures, the press and the public sometimes celebrate or criticize his selections.
But they almost always scrutinize.
When Obama nominated Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, the constitutionality of her appointment was called into question.
When Obama nominated Timothy F. Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury, suspicions about tax evasion colored his confirmation.
When Obama nominated Tom Daschle for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Daschle's unpaid taxes effectively eliminated him from consideration, as he withdrew his nomination Feb. 3.
In contrast to these controversial Cabinet selections, ASG President Carter Ford's assembly of advisers is a quiet group, ASG officers said.
"We've had a really good group of people and it's been a lot of fun," said Tori Adams, ASG liaison to legislative affairs.
Erica Harmon, ASG director of political and civic engagement, said she agrees.
"All the individuals in the Cabinet are very outgoing, very charismatic people," she said. "They're happy with the positions they're in, they take it very seriously and they work toward benefiting the student body."
Both Ford and ASG Chief of Staff Megan Francis said they think ASG Cabinet members don't receive enough credit for the work they do, despite ASG executives' best attempts to highlight their efforts.
"Cabinet is probably the most unnoticed group of ASG because of its organizational structure," Ford said. "It's smaller than Senate, so the meetings are more informal, but there's so much credit due to Cabinet."
ASG Cabinet members do a lot of background work, Francis said, but that work lays the foundation for the accomplishments of the entire ASG.
"Our Cabinet members put in a lot of work behind the scenes and there are a lot of things that happen on our campus that people don't even realize Cabinet does," she said. "For example, Cabinet's done a lot of work on Fall Break and, if that happens, you probably won't hear Matthew Haynie's name mentioned for all the research he's done."
But they almost always scrutinize.
When Obama nominated Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, the constitutionality of her appointment was called into question.
When Obama nominated Timothy F. Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury, suspicions about tax evasion colored his confirmation.
When Obama nominated Tom Daschle for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Daschle's unpaid taxes effectively eliminated him from consideration, as he withdrew his nomination Feb. 3.
In contrast to these controversial Cabinet selections, ASG President Carter Ford's assembly of advisers is a quiet group, ASG officers said.
"We've had a really good group of people and it's been a lot of fun," said Tori Adams, ASG liaison to legislative affairs.
Erica Harmon, ASG director of political and civic engagement, said she agrees.
"All the individuals in the Cabinet are very outgoing, very charismatic people," she said. "They're happy with the positions they're in, they take it very seriously and they work toward benefiting the student body."
Both Ford and ASG Chief of Staff Megan Francis said they think ASG Cabinet members don't receive enough credit for the work they do, despite ASG executives' best attempts to highlight their efforts.
"Cabinet is probably the most unnoticed group of ASG because of its organizational structure," Ford said. "It's smaller than Senate, so the meetings are more informal, but there's so much credit due to Cabinet."
ASG Cabinet members do a lot of background work, Francis said, but that work lays the foundation for the accomplishments of the entire ASG.
"Our Cabinet members put in a lot of work behind the scenes and there are a lot of things that happen on our campus that people don't even realize Cabinet does," she said. "For example, Cabinet's done a lot of work on Fall Break and, if that happens, you probably won't hear Matthew Haynie's name mentioned for all the research he's done."
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