Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible for immigration policy and border security, which are part of Homeland Security’s myriad functions.
Napolitano brings law-and-order experience from her stint as the Grand Canyon State’s first female attorney general. One of the nation’s most prominent female elected officials, she made frequent appearances on behalf of Barack Obama during the campaign. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2006.
Napolitano is a centrist, but also a very reasonable one. There is some moaning going on in the Blogosphere that if Napolitano does accept the job we will be losing a governors seat and possible the best candidate against John McCain in 2010. I say oh well. If she is the best person for the job in the eyes of Obama, then we should support her. I’m sure we can find someone else to run against McCain and the Republican that would replace Napolitano as governor would have to run again in 2010 also. That’s a lifetime in politics and we can always see something else happen that turns the tides in our favor.