No more pussy footing around. One of Trump’s ingenious new innovations in the political Pre Inaugural President Elect song and dance number has been the Beauty Pageant style parade of hopefuls, wannabes, job applicants, supplicants, and former rivals showing up to pay homage to the new Master in Residence, who kiss the imperial ring, presumably eat more than a slice of humble pie, and receive his very Presidential blessing or pardon (or both, as the case may be) before facing a bevy of photographers for the public record.
Preparing the Trump Tower Lobby for the Daily Cabinet Job Beauty Parade
Trump Tower is not big enough to put on a single stage show of all 80-100 or more participants like the Miss Universe Pageant, but the U.S. television audience is larger, and the streaming show has been carried on lots more networks, and gotten much more press attention.
It would not be fair to characterize the daily procession, now stretched out to two weeks and longer as the New American Political Swimsuit Competition (given the gravity of the circumstances, not to mention the physical attributes of the majority of contestants). Perhaps it is more akin to the Evening Gown display.
Job Applicant Rep. Tom Price (GA) Exiting Trump Tower from Behind
The median age of the participants is somewhat older than anticipated primarily for a beauty contest, and they are not so light on their feet either. Both the hopeful entrants and the Major Media are waiting each day with bated breath for the latest installment.
Old PT (our greatest 19th century impresario) would be busting his buttons; Trump is a true spiritual son of a gun. Just sayin’.
America’s Great 19th Century Showman, Phineas Taylor Barnum (1851)
Cabinet Setup (as of late 2016) Pre-Trump
In 2016, the President’s Cabinet consists of 15 Department heads (all named Secretary, except the Attorney General of the Justice Department). These are the highest ranking government executives in America, besides the constitutionally elected President and Vice-President. The Vice-President is considered part of the Cabinet. Each of the 15 Cabinet officers must be approved by the Senate, after nomination by the President. In addition, there are seven other government officers considered of Cabinet rank.
In line with the new PR flash for Pres-45, the final act was consummated last evening with an apparently cordial and peace making dinner with the 2012 Republican standard bearer, one Mitt Romney, come to pay respects at court for the New Leader. For Trump this occasion was especially delicious since Romney was one of the most vocal Republican opponents to Trump’s style, Trump’s policies, and Trump’s vision from the sidelines during the campaign.
Trump Shares an Intimate Restaurant Dinner with Mitt Romney on Tuesday
Gone, gone, gone are the Republican forces of delay and dissatisfaction with the new impulsive Twitter style and grandiose contradictory promises of the New Master. The boys are all in, at least for public consumption right now. That federal gravy train is starting to look mighty appealing.
In any case the parade of possibilities, left field long shots, and other assorted visitors has now slowed down considerably. The Trump Train Cabinet selection process is gathering more steam and rumbles on.
Whether Romney has improved his stock for Secretary of State (as Trump keeps saying Mitt looks awful good in the part) or Trump’s vengeful rightward advisors will prevail over his instincts is still to be decided.
| Vice President of the United States | |
| Official Cabinet Departments | |
| 1 | Department of State |
| 2 | Department of the Treasury |
| 3 | Department of Defense |
| 4 | Department of Justice |
| 5 | Department of the Interior |
| 6 | Department of Agriculture |
| 7 | Department of Commerce |
| 8 | Department of Labor |
| 9 | Department of Health and Human Services |
| 10 | Department of Housing and Urban Development |
| 11 | Department of Transportation |
| 12 | Department of Energy |
| 13 | Department of Education |
| 14 | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| 15 | Department of Homeland Security |
| Additional Cabinet Rank Appointments | |
| 1 | White House Chief of Staff |
| 2 | Environmental Protection Agency |
| 3 | Office of Management & Budget |
| 4 | United States Trade Representative |
| 5 | United States Mission to the United Nations |
| 6 | Council of Economic Advisers |
| 7 | Small Business Administration |
Newish Names Since Last Week
Since our last observation sighting a week ago here are the latest selections, without the distraction of the almost and might-have-been trial balloons.
These newer potential cabinet members are:
- Steven Mnuchin for Treasury
- Wilbur Ross for Commerce Secretary
- Rep. Tom Price (GA) for Secretary of Health & Human Services
- Elaine Chao for Secretary of Transportation
Selected Sources: Trump’s Latest Round of Appointment Choices
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/politics/donald-trump-administration.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/us/politics/donald-trump-transition.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/republican-congress-trump-cabinet/509072/
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/republican-congress-trump-cabinet/509072/
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/us/politics/tom-price-secretary-health-and-human-services.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/us/politics/elaine-chao-transportation-trump.html
http://religionnews.com/2016/11/29/trumps-advisers-the-faith-factor/
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/who-is-in-president-trump-cabinet-231071
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Donald_Trump
What Else to Make of the Cabinet Selections So Far (11/30)
They say it is often best to Go With What You Know. In the last week the Trump transition team has continued their determined pursuit of Whiteness.
At the official cabinet level, Trump did achieve a glorious three-fer with his choice of Elaine Chao for Transportation Secretary, since she is not only a woman, but an Asian-American, and, in a first for Trump, an immigrant American citizen. She was born in Taiwan and came t the U.S. in 1961 at the age of eight.
Actually Elaine Chao, might be considered a quintuple threat since she was previously Secretary of Labor for 8 full years under George Bush (making her one of the most experienced of Trump’s high level picks). Further, her husband is none other than Mitch McConnell (R KY), Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.
At the unofficial cabinet level Trump also added Donald McGahn as his White House Counsel. expanding the magic circle to a count of 28 from last week. This week’s additions then are 4 White Males, and one Female Triple Threat (at least).
We also have a new category to briefly pass over. They are not positions at the most senior cabinet level, but provide some insight to Trump’s black box decision algorithm.
One might call this new group the Principal Subaltern Class in Trump’s Universe, a delightful old-fashioned term used in Britain and later adopted in the colonial U.S.
This week’s Subaltern Class includes K.T. McFarland as Deputy National Security Advisor, Seema Verma as Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Todd Ricketts as Deputy Commerce Secretary. Here Trump burnishes his Women’s Initiative at the second level with two picks out of three, including Verma as a two-fer Indian-American ethnic minority pick, and only one boring White Guy (Ricketts).
These three choices are not power pillars by themselves in the Administration, but they are significant and notable in their timing. Each has been selected before the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of State, and 12 other official cabinet level department heads.
State of the Proto-Cabinet Summary
All told, including Trump and Pence, the 22 cabinet rank posts, and the four special significant add-ons (Senior Political Advisor, National Security Advisor, White House Counsel, and CIA Director) that makes a total of 28 picks at issue. That said, Trump’s proto-cabinet is now 50% selected (14 of 28). Women comprise 21%; ethnic minorities 14%.
Whites of both sexes make up either 86% or 93% of his choices so far, depending on how Nikki Haley chooses to be counted. Not much change from one week ago, still very top-heavy White Males. Still snow blindness territory observed from a middle distance.
For the moment, given Trump’s promises of fair inclusion for all of America’s citizens by gender and ethnicity, he remains shy of his pledge.
America’s Countdown to Midnight is now at 7 Weeks until Inauguration. Time Marches on. “Tempus fugit,” as the Roman poet Virgil wrote more than 2,000 years ago (circa 29 B.C.).
End Summary
In contemplating these picks and trying to integrate the multimedia images Trump is broadcasting wide band, my thoughts were transported unasked and unbidden to the memory of a classic TV show, Rawhide*, as befits any child of the 1950’s, a cohort in which I share full membership, along with Trump.
Clint Eastwood, Mega Star of TV Series Rawhide (1959-1966)
If you were breathing in America in 1960 and more than 4 years old, it is a safe bet you know them by heart, or did back then. Every Friday. On CBS.
Here are some of the lyrics from the immortal Rawhide theme song**:
Cut ’em out, ride ’em in
Ride ’em in, cut ’em out
Cut ’em out, ride ’em in
Rawhide
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’
Though they’re disapprovin’
Keep them doggies movin’, rawhide
Don’t try to understand ’em
Just rope, throw an’ brand ’em
Soon we’ll be livin’ high an’ wide
That is the essence of the Trump show. Movin’, movin’, movin’ Keep them doggies movin’.
*Rawhide (1959-1966):
Rawhide is an American Western TV series starring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood. The show aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes. The series was produced and sometimes directed by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced early episodes of Gunsmoke.
Spanning seven and a half years, Rawhide was the fifth-longest-running American television Western, exceeded only by 8 years of Wagon Train, 9 years of The Virginian, 14 years of Bonanza, and 20 years of Gunsmoke.
Clint Eastwood as Iconic TV Western Character Rowdy Yates in Rawhide
Before there were Spaghetti Westerns and Sergio Leone, before Dirty Harry, there was Rawhide. A rocket launching pad to superstardom for Clint Eastwood, a real hollywood TV and film icon, not a faint pretend star, like some more recent aspirants.
Clint Eastwood with Guest Star beauty Nina Foch on Rawhide (1959)
Watch one full episode of Rawhide here (B&W, 47 minutes). Say hello to Gil Favor, Rowdy, and Wishbone once again
**Rawhide was a hit pop song from 1958 recorded by Frankie Laine, a prolific American artist with a 75-year career, who had Billboard chart hits from 1947 to 1969, including at least 21 Gold Records.
Listen to Frankie Laine sing his Gold Record Hit from 1959.
From the Wikipedia entry for singer Frankie Laine:
Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of “That’s My Desire” in 2005. Often billed as “America’s Number One Song Stylist”, his other nicknames include “Mr. Rhythm”, “Old Leather Lungs”, and “Mr. Steel Tonsils”. His hits included “That’s My Desire”, “That Lucky Old Sun”, “Mule Train”, “Cry of the Wild Goose”, “A Woman In Love”, “Jezebel”, “High Noon”, “I Believe”, “Hey Joe!”, “The Kid’s Last Fight”, “Cool Water”, “Moonlight Gambler,” “Love Is a Golden Ring,” “Rawhide”, and “Lord, You Gave Me a Mountain.”
A clarion-voiced singer with lots of style, able to fill halls without a microphone, and one of the biggest hit-makers of late 1940s/early 1950s, Laine had more than 70 charted records, 21 gold records, and worldwide sales of over 100 million records. Originally a rhythm and blues influenced jazz singer, Laine excelled at virtually every music style, eventually expanding to such varied genres as popular standards, gospel, folk, country, western/Americana, rock ‘n’ roll, and the occasional novelty number. He was also known as Mr. Rhythm for his driving jazzy style.
A list of Frankie Laine’s record hits:
| Release date | Title | US Billboard chart position | Gold Record |
| 1947 | “That’s My Desire“ | 4 | * |
| “Black and Blue“ | 27 | ||
| “Mam’selle“ | 14 | ||
| “On the Sunny Side of the Street“ | * | ||
| “Two Loves Have I” | 21 | * | |
| 1948 | “Shine“ | 9 | * |
| “Monday Again” | 24 | ||
| “Baby, That Ain’t Right“ | 20 | ||
| “You’re All I Want for Christmas” | 11 | ||
| “Ah, But It Happens” | 21 | ||
| 1949 | “Now That I Need You” | 20 | |
| “That Lucky Old Sun“ | 1 | * | |
| “Mule Train“ | 1 | * | |
| 1950 | “The Cry of the Wild Goose“ | 1 | * |
| “Satan Wears a Satin Gown” | 28 | ||
| “Swamp Girl” | 12 | * | |
| “Stars and Stripes Forever” | 20 | ||
| “Music, Maestro Please” | 13 | ||
| “Dream a Little Dream of Me“ | 18 | ||
| “Nevertheless“ | 11 | ||
| “If I Were a Bell” | 30 | ||
| 1951 | “The Metro Polka” | 19 | |
| “Pretty-Eyed Baby” (w/Jo Stafford) | 13 | ||
| “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening“ | 17 | ||
| “The Girl in the Wood” | 23 | ||
| “Wonderful, Wasn’t It?” | 17 | ||
| “Gambella (The Gamblin’ Lady)” (w/Jo Stafford) | 19 | ||
| “The Gandy Dancers Ball” | 21 | ||
| “When You’re in Love” | 30 | ||
| “Jezebel“ | 2 | * | |
| “Rose, Rose, I Love You“ | 3 | * | |
| “Hey Good Lookin’” (w/Jo Stafford) | 9 | ||
| “Jealousy (Jalousie)” | 3 | * | |
| 1952 | “Hambone” (w/Jo Stafford) | 6 | |
| “The Rock of Gibraltar” | 20 | ||
| “Settin’ the Woods on Fire” (w/Jo Stafford) | 21 | ||
| “Chow Willy” (w/Jo Stafford) | 25 | ||
| “I’m Just a Poor Bachelor” | 14 | ||
| “Tonight You Belong to Me“ | 26 | ||
| “Sugarbush” (w/Doris Day) | 7 | * | |
| “High Noon“ | 5 | * | |
| 1953 | “Girl in the Wood” | 23 | |
| “Your Cheatin’ Heart“ | 18 | * | |
| “The Little Boy and the Old Man” (w/Jimmy Boyd) | 24 | ||
| “I Let Her Go” | 27 | ||
| “Blowing Wild (The Ballad of Black Gold)” | 21 | ||
| “I Believe“ | 2 | * | |
| “Where the Winds Blow” | |||
| “Tell Me a Story” (w/Jimmy Boyd) | 4 | ||
| “Hey Joe“ | 6 | ||
| “Answer Me“ | 24 | ||
| “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” (w/Jo Stafford) | 26 | ||
| “Granada“ | 17 | ||
| 1954 | “Blowing Wild (The Ballad of Black Gold)” | ||
| “Granada” | |||
| “The Kid’s Last Fight“ | 20 | * | |
| “Some Day“ | 14 | ||
| “My Friend” | |||
| “There Must Be A Reason” | |||
| “Rain, Rain, Rain” (w/ The Four Lads) | 21 | ||
| “Your Heart, My Heart” | 28 | ||
| 1955 | “In the Beginning“ | ||
| “Cool Water“ | * | ||
| “Strange Lady in Town” | |||
| “Hummingbird“ | 17 | ||
| “Hawkeye” | 73 | ||
| “A Woman in Love“ | 19 | * | |
| 1956 | “Sixteen Tons“ | ||
| “Hell Hath no Fury” | |||
| “A Woman in Love“ | * | ||
| “Don’t Cry” | 83 | ||
| “Moonlight Gambler” | 3 | * | |
| 1957 | “Love Is a Golden Ring” | 10 | |
| “The 3:10 to Yuma“ | |||
| “Good Evening Friends” (w/Johnnie Ray) | |||
| “Up Above My Head” (w/Johnnie Ray) | |||
| 1959 | “Rawhide“ | * | |
| 1961 | “Gunslinger” | ||
| 1963 | “Don’t Make My Baby Blue” | 51 | |
| 1967 | “I’ll Take Care of Your Cares” | 39 | |
| “Making Memories” | 35 | * | |
| “You Wanted Someone to Play With” | 48 | ||
| “You, No One But You” | 83 | ||
| “Laura (What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got)“ | 66 | ||
| 1968 | “To Each His Own“ | 82 | |
| “Take Me Back” | 115 | ||
| “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” | |||
| “I Found You” | 118 | ||
| “Please Forgive Me” | |||
| 1969 | “You Gave Me a Mountain“ | 24 | * |
| “Dammit Isn’t God’s Last Name” | 86 |
Full lyrics to Rawhide by Frankie Laine:
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rawhide
She rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Though the streams are swollen
Keep them doggies rollin’, rawhide
Through rain an’ wind an’ weather
Hellbent for leather
Wishin’ my gal was by my side
All the things I’m missin’
Good vittles, love an’ kissin’
Are waitin’ at the end of my ride
Move ’em on, head ’em up
Head ’em up, move ’em on
Move ’em on, head ’em up
Rawhide
Cut ’em out, ride ’em in
Ride ’em in, cut ’em out
Cut ’em out, ride ’em in
Rawhide
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’
Though they’re disapprovin’
Keep them doggies movin’, rawhide
Don’t try to understand ’em
Just rope, throw an’ brand ’em
Soon we’ll be livin’ high an’ wide
My heart’s calculatin’
My true love will be waitin’
Be waitin’ at the end of my ride
Move ’em on, head ’em up
Head ’em up, move ’em on
Move ’em on, head ’em up
Rawhide
Cut ’em out, ride ’em in
Ride ’em in, cut ’em out
Cut ’em out, ride ’em in
Rawhide
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rawhide, rawhide