With last night's early returns producing no clear winner in the presidential election, several University professors and alumni might still have a chance to serve in the White House — a Kerry one — during the next four years.
Current faculty members speculated Tuesday that a President Kerry would tap several economics and Wilson School professors along with many alumni who served in the Clinton administration:
For Kerry's foreign policy team, speculation focused on Richard Holbrooke GS '70, a former ambassador to the United Nations, and Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80, an expert on international law.
In economics, some professors predicted that Alan Blinder, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board during the Clinton Administration, and Alan Krueger and Uwe Reinhardt would be likely appointees.
In the Judicial Branch, Elena Kagan '81, dean of Harvard Law School, could be tapped as a Supreme Court justice, according to reports in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Professors and alumni involved could not be reached or declined to comment.
The foreign policy team
Holbrooke is perhaps the highest-profile alumnus mentioned for a post in a Kerry administration. Observers say Holbrooke is a candidate for secretary of state or a high-level job in the diplomatic community, such as special ambassador to the Middle East.
Though Slaughter has previously said she has no interest in leaving Princeton, three professors, who asked that their names not be used because they were discussing Slaughter's professional life, said she would be a strong candidate for a top-level post such as general counsel of the State Department.
"Though I really think she has made a commitment to Princeton," said a professor involved with previous administrations, "it's quite a different thing if you get a call to go down to the White House and you walk into the Oval Office and the President of the United States says he needs you to do something."
Other faculty members mentioned for a foreign policy positions include Michael O'Hanlon GS '91 and Eric Schwartz GS '85, lecturers at the Wilson School. O'Hanlon teaches national security policy, while Schwartz leads an undergraduate seminar on peacemaking.
O'Hanlon might be in line for a policy position in the Department of Defense or National Security Council, according to published reports and professors at the University.
Schwartz, who served as a special assistant to the president for multilateral and humanitarian affairs in the Clinton Administration, is also in line for a possible appointment under Kerry.
The economic team
Though Blinder has been named by several observers as a top candidate for Federal Reserve Chairman when Alan Greenspan steps down in 2006, one professor with involvement in previous administrations disagreed.
"Alan Blinder a certainly a candidate for a major position, but chair of the Fed, that's much more likely to go [former treasury secretary] Bob Rubin," the professor said.
Other observers have pointed out that Harvard University President Lawrence Summers, a treasury secretary in the Clinton Administration, is the front-runner for the job under Kerry.
Economics professor Alan Krueger, who served in the Clinton Labor Department, was named as a probable candidate for a position somewhere on a potential Kerry economic team, whether it is on the CEA or another office.
GovExec.com, an online news magazine for federal government employees and observers, also reported that several alumni are in the running for important positions on a Kerry economic team.
James Johnson GS '68 is likely in the running for secretary of the treasury, though some reports show him best positioned for White House chief of staff, according to the site.
W. Bowman Cutter GS '68, who served in President Clinton's National Economic Council and in President Carter's Office of Management and Budget, and Peter Orszag '91, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, are also mentioned on the site as candidates for various posts on the economic team.
Others
On another front, healthcare reform has been one of the hallmarks of Kerry's campaign, and Reinhardt, recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on healthcare economics, has been named as a possible adviser.
Mike McCurry '76, who became Clinton's second press secretary and advised him during the Monica Lewinsky affair, is currently a senior adviser with the Kerry campaign and is in line for a top job at the White House.
Also, Robert Johnson GS '72, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, is in the running for the position of commerce secretary, a position that traditionally goes to a large campaign donor, according to GovExec.
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