Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (right) with Barack Obama and Al Gore

---

Jennifer Granholm May Have Other Options Than Obama Cabinet Post

Court Post, or Ambassador, May Be Possibilities for Michigan's Governor

December 21, 2008
By: Dave Rogers

We all saw Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm on TV with the Obama campaign as it celebrated victory in November.

Speculation that Ms. Granholm would be nominated for a cabinet position has dissipated as position after position that she could have filled has gone to other appointees.

She has consistently denied any interest in joining the Obama team, but speculation continues.

Latest is that the Michigan governor is in line for a judicial appointment, perhaps as high as the U.S. Supreme Court or an appeals court or other post.

Why not ambassador to Canada or Great Britain?

She is, after all, a Canadian.

Those posts are options only for the super rich, since they require extensive entertaining -- at the ambassador's expense.

Former Gov. Jim Blanchard reportedly has told friends his stint as Ambassador to Canada was a costly venture, wiping out most of his savings.

Ms. Granholm is not considered in the super rich category, so a diplomatic post may be out for her.

Another consideration is that Michigan's low standing in public opinion might maker her a liability for Obama.

Although she has done a workmanlike job as Michigan governor against overwhelming odds, Michigan is in the dumps as far as the public is concerned.

Consider that 50-60 percent of the public is against the federal bailout of the Big Three automakers.

Granholm reportedly had sought the energy secretary post because of her interest in the department's thrust into fuel-efficient vehicles.

The energy post went to Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist with vast scientific and technical skills -- but little management or political history.

Then she was considered a possibility for labor secretary, but after she expressed disinterest the selection went to U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis. That appointee will be charged the ultra-tough job of marshaling support for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, otherwise known as the card-check bill.

Rep. Solis of California will be nominated as labor secretary by President-elect Barack Obama, two Democratic sources said last week.

Hailing from Hispanic East Los Angeles and eastern L.A. county, Rep. Solis is the daughter of Mexican and Nicaraguan immigrants and the only member of Congress of Central American descent.

Ms. Solis, 51, has focused on immigration and environment issues while in the House.

Fox News reported: "Solis was the dark horse in the race but emerged after Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who had been expected to get the nod, indicated through her closest advisers that she was not interested in the position and had yet to be formally contacted about her interest."

The card-check bill would end secret ballot elections in union organizing and is big labor's top legislative priority in 2009. Extensive advertising and lobbying drives are planned by to advance the issue early in the Obama presidency.

Ms. Granholm may have realized she had too much negative baggage created by Michigan's lagging economy, unavoidable of course, to carry the ball on such a controversial issue, political observers theorized.

But perhaps she has her eye on another post, maybe on a court, that would allow her to prosper and wind up her public career away from the high pressure of politics.

That's our guess.###