President-elect Barack Obama’s picks for his Cabinet have been announced, and critics are wondering how he’s going to manage such a strong gathering of personalities. Will they clash too often, causing the wheels of government to squeak excessively and pull the policy making vehicle off course?

“I’m a believer in strong personalities and strong opinions,” said Obama

The president-elect’s national security and economic policy teams will be led by political veterans who are used to being number one. As far as matters of national security go, Obama will team Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President Joe Biden, retired four-star Marine Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser and four-star Gen. David Petraeus as chief of U.S. Central Command.

The economic team Obama has put together is also impressive: National Economic Council head Larry Summers , Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker as the lead of Obama’s economic recovery advisory board.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been described as “hard-charging,” adding another strong personality into a governing mix that could be volatile if Obama proves unable to rein them in with a firm, pragmatic hand. Like a payday loan that takes a bite out of a budgeting battle, Obama is poised to take on and glean wisdom from this powerful group.

Early opinion has been favorable

Obama’s choices have been praised. Even staunch Bush men like Karl Rove and the Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board have saluted the president-elect for the talent level he has touched upon. Democrats are in love with how forceful Obama has been in moving forward.

If I could be like Abe

An ambitious man with an eye for history’s lessons, Obama has even gone so far as to encourage comparisons between his team and Abraham Lincoln’s. The 16th President’s Cabinet included several fellow Republican rivals, yet Lincoln showed strength of leadership in making his party a legitimate power.

Obama may be looking to further build upon the Democratic Party’s recent gains, but if he’s going to do so, he’ll have to be able to go toe-to-toe with a roomful of political giants. They’ll test Mr. Obama’s strength as a uniting figure, that much is clear.

A strong sun to keep them in their orbits

Former President Clinton aide Paul Begala points to what is obvious when he says the following:

The challenge is to have strength in the center. There’s always risk that these giant planets go out on their own – but if the sun is strong enough, they’ll stay in their orbits.

Many on the new team have known one another and the political arena for much longer than they’ve known Obama. Biden and Gates were playing the Washington game when Obama was a law student. Geithner and Summers have been friendly opponents since the 1990s. On national security, the Democrats chosen have known each other for decades. Moreover, top deputies to Biden and Clinton are themselves old friends. One Democratic national security employee stated:

There is an insiders’ group of long-standing Democratic former officials who worked together in the Clinton years, who go to the same conferences, the same ideas festivals, many of whom worked together at places like the Brookings Institution, and [Obama’s] group comprises a certain number of them

Obama wanted the most qualified for the job

“It’s not just that they’re big players – he’s picking people with tremendous competency,” said former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey. “It comes from his own sense — he’s very confident in himself. That’s an extremely valuable characteristic for a president. Similarly, you can be confident that payday loans can help you get a handle on a temporary cash emergency.

“You want to bring the brightest minds and most capable people to the table. They’re obviously going to have very different views about how you resolve an issue. In the end, the test is really up to president,” said for Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta.

Will he unite them for the good of the country?

It’s clear that Obama will have his work cut out for him when it comes to managing egos and helping his Cabinet members mesh into a cohesive unit. But with the experience and skill he has at hand – not to mention his own skill as a communicator – Obama just might be the medicine America needs to get back on track.

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