So far, none have been announced. It appears that President-Elect Obama that Representative Rahm Emanuel will be the new President's Chief of Staff. The public face of the administration will also be a man, it appears, as Obama campaign communications director Robert Gibbs is the reported pick for press secretary. Apparently, President-Elect Obama is not sensitive to the fact that announcing or leaking the names of appointments before any women are included in the top ranks - IF any women are to be included - is further alienating to Democrats who already believe him insensitive (at best) to equal political representation for women. To my mind, this makes it all important that the Democratic Senators vote Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to the position of Senate Majority Leader assuming she is willing to take the position. Senator Clinton's fellow Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, currently second in line in to Senator Harry Reid, Democratic Senate leadership, would ordinarily be considered a natural successor to Reid. Both of these gentlemen should agree to step aside; we know that if they do not and Senator Clinton makes it known she would take the position, let alone that she might actually want it, she will be accused of overstepping. This is an annoying fact, but since it is a fact Reid and Schumer should deal with it and make way for nationally recognized Democrat to lead the Senate in 2009. For some time now I have been urging voters and Democratic Senators to get involved in this cause. From the website dedicated to it:

Statement of Purpose

…. The majority leader has the right to be called upon first if several senators are seeking recognition by the presiding officer, which enables him to offer motions or amendments before any other senator. Although party floor leadership posts carry great responsibility, they provide few specific powers. Instead, floor leaders have largely had to depend on their individual skill, intelligence, and personality. Majority leaders seek to balance the needs of senators of both parties to express their views fully on a bill with the pressures to move the bill as quickly as possible toward enactment. These conflicting demands have required majority leaders to develop skills in compromise, accommodation, and diplomacy. Lyndon Johnson, who held the post in the 1950s, once said that the greatest power of the majority leader was "the power of persuasion." The majority leader usually works closely with the minority leader so that, as Senator Bob Dole explained, "we never surprise each other on the floor." The party leaders meet frequently with the president and with the leaders of the House of Representatives. The majority leader also greets foreign dignitaries visiting the Capitol. The power of the Senate Majority turns largely on the talents of the Majority Leader who must be a person with great ideas and extremely political savvy. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton fits the bill perfectly. Her ideas and policy positions have won a clear mandate from the voters of America. She has demonstrated repeatedly an ability to work across the aisle to attain major legislative accomplishments; but she has also demonstrated that she will not simply cave to expediency (e.g. her vote on the FISA bill, her ongoing fight to ensure reproductive rights for all). As for meeting with foreign dignitaries, Senator Clinton is known and respected around the world. If her peers elect her as majority leader, this will send the message to all those abroad that she is just as respected here at home. To become the Senate Majority Leader in 2009, Senator Clinton must win election to that position by being voted into it by her fellow Democratic Senators, a vote that usually occurs in early January. You can direct others to this website by giving them this URL: www.hrcforsenatemajorityleader09.com There are instructions at that website for how to become a signatory. I urge you to contact your own Senators if they are Democrats and urge them to get behind this effort.