It is lonely at the top. Fortunately, our Constitution ensures that the President of the United States will always have company. In Article Two, we find the following:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

The success or failure of a President can depend entirely upon the strength or weakness of the Cabinet. These twenty-one individuals have the President’s trust, and he is counting on them to each provide expert advice regarding their particular office. Ignorance on their part can prove disastrous.

So while the playing field is filling with free agents, all vying for air-time now and our individual votes in November 2008, it might be wise to take a look at these twenty-one positions of power. Much like armchair quarterbacks do every fall with fantasy football, I’m going to take on a similar challenge, one player at a time.

I’m calling this my Fantasy Presidential Cabinet.

Before we get started, we need a list. If asked, could you name off all twenty-one Cabinet (or Cabinet-ranked) positions? I doubt I could even list eight others, not without a little Googling.

As of 2006, the President surrounds himself with the following:

• Vice President*
• Secretary of Agriculture
• Secretary of Commerce
• Secretary of Defense
• Secretary of Education
• Secretary of Energy
• Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Secretary of Homeland Security
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Secretary of Interior
• Attorney General, Department of Justice
• Secretary of Labor
• Secretary of State
• Secretary of Transportation
• Secretary of the Treasury
• Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency**
• Director, Office of Management and Budget**
• Director, National Drug Control Policy**
• U.S. Trade Representative**
• White House Chief of Staff*

I’ll hold off on the VP until the end, so expect a pick for one of the many Secretaries in the next week or so.

This will be fun. And who knows? Maybe my picks will make it into the actual, real-life 2008 roster. And I promise you that I will actually keep up with this fantasy line-up … thus avoiding the horrible season experienced by the forgotten and ill-fated “Drama Bums” in 2006. Ranked 11 out of 12 in the MeCha Fantasy Football League, my team proves that having Michael Vick in your line-up is not enough to guarantee success, no matter your reality.

* – Cabinet Rank Member
** – Elevated to Cabinet-level rank by the current administration.