Latinos push for more cabinet posts

Bill Richardson was named this morning as the nation's next commerce secretary.

But Latino lawmakers are already serving notice to President-elect Barack Obama that he needs to put more Hispanics in his cabinet.

Bloomberg reports that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus delivered a letter Tuesday to Obama's transition office recommending a slate of 14 Hispanics for the remaining eight Cabinet slots.

The group's chairman, Representative Joe Baca of California, warned that Obama's agenda could be jeopardized if he doesn't nominate more Latinos. "If it's just one, he’s going to have to answer to a lot of the issues that come before us," Baca told Bloomberg.

There are reports in the Washington Post and elsewhere that Representative Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat, has emerged as a leading contender to become US trade representative.

Becerra, in Congress since 1993, is on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Richardson, now the governor of New Mexico, served in the Clinton administration as energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations. But after he dropped out of the Democratic nomination fight, he offered a high-profile endorsement to Obama.

Obama called Richardson "another key member" of his economic team, who shares his values, has seen from almost every angle how the economy works, and who has a record in New Mexico of creating green energy jobs.

And Obama said with each passing day, the team's task becomes more urgent, citing news this week that the nation has been in recession since December 2007 and that manufacturing output has plummeted to a quarter-century low.

Richardson said the commerce department has a "vital role" in the economic recovery as the intellectual center for needed programs.

He vowed that America will return to the forefront of technological innovation, especially in alternative energy, and will restore its strength in manufacturing. He also expressed his thanks to New Mexico, both in English and in Spanish.

Asked about the job being a consolation prize for Richardson, who was also thought to be in the running for secretary of state, and for Latinos generally, Obama said "commerce secretary is a pretty good job" and Richardson was the best person for job.

Obama also noted that he has only appointed half of his cabinet and only some of his White House staffs. When he's finished, he said, people will say, "This is one of the most diverse cabinets and White House staffs of all time.

"There's no contradiction between diversity and excellence," Obama added.

When Richardson was asked why he has shaved off his beard, Obama jumped in and joked that the rugged Western look was working for Richardson.

"We're deeply disappointed with the loss of the beard," Obama said.

Despite concerns that Hispanic voters would give him the cold shoulder, Obama did well among them, winning 67 percent to 31 percent nationally, according to exit polls. Latinos helped him win several Western states, including Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico -- part of his success in making inroads into recently Republican territory.