There has also been speculation about an ambassadorship. Doyle intimates have mentioned Canada, which is a top ambassadorship. Ireland might also be a prospect. Doyle was an early sympathizer with the Barack Obama for President campaign, even going so far as to appear at a Madison fund-raising event for the Illinois senator last fall -- when most prominent Wisconsin Democrats who were endorsing a candidate were getting on board with New York Senator Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic nod, or that of former North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Doyle officially endorsed Obama after the Illinoisan won the Iowa caucuses and did some surrogate campaigning on the senator's behalf -- even debating Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Clinton backer, on CNN during the primary season. As the fall came, Doyle did little national campaigning for Obama -- usually a prerequisite for a top-level nomination. But the governor was extremely active on Obama's behalf in Wisconsin, a former battleground state that, ultimately, produced a big win for the Democratic presidential candidate. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and his wife served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Tunisia in the 1960's.
Several Obama intimates who are also familiar with Doyle have suggested that the governor, who worked as a teacher in Tunisia as part of the Peace Corps from 1967 to 1969, might be a candidate to direct the Peace Corps
Doyle to get post in Obama administration?
John Nichols — 1
1/14/2008 10:04 am
Gov Jim Doyle traveled out of state, reportedly to New York, this week on a trip that Capitol insiders who were familiar with the governor's schedule said involved neither state business nor campaign duties.
Doyle aides said the gubernatorial travel involved "personal business."
Might that "personal business" have something to do with a position in President-elect Barack Obama's administration?
That was the speculation that swept the Capitol Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Doyle aides confirmed to reporters that the governor had had some contact with the Obama transition team, but would go no further in describing the nature of any discussions.
The contact from the Obama team certainly could presage a discussion about the governor taking a post in the first Democratic administration in eight years. But it could also be a more perfunctory contact related to a broader vetting process; smart transition teams often arrange with key state officials around the country to vet potential appointees from those states.
Even if Doyle is not going to Washington, it is a safe bet that Obama aides will want the governor and his aides to help with the vetting of Wisconsinites who are seeking positions in the new administration.
Doyle has steered conversations away from the subject of taking a job in an Obama administration. But he has not rejected the prospect. He said shortly after the Democratic ticket swept Wisconsin and the nation on November 4 that, "I've never had a president call me up and say, 'This what I'd like you to do,' and if that call were to come -- and I don't think it's going to come, I wouldn't expect that it would come, I'm not trying to have it come -- if that call were to come, I think I, just like anyone, would have to take it very seriously."
A top Capitol Democrat, who spoke to The Capital Times in detail about transition but asked not to be named, said, "It's an ego thing. Doyle is interested in seeing what he could get, but he understands he may not get a top-tier appointment. That doesn't mean he is not interested in what might be an offer."
As a former county prosecutor and state attorney general, Doyle has a background that leads some to mention him as a potential Attorney General. But his name has not shown up on the lists of prospective Department of Justice nominees circulating in Washington and Chicago -- where most of Obama's transition team is encamped.
Several Obama intimates who are also familiar with Doyle have suggested that the governor, who worked as a teacher in Tunisia as part of the Peace Corps from 1967 to 1969, might be a candidate to direct the Peace Corps. In a suddenly internationalist administration, that could be a plum assignment.
There has also been speculation about an ambassadorship. Doyle intimates have mentioned Canada, which is a top ambassadorship. Ireland might also be a prospect.
Doyle was an early sympathizer with the Barack Obama for President campaign, even going so far as to appear at a Madison fund-raising event for the Illinois senator last fall -- when most prominent Wisconsin Democrats who were endorsing a candidate were getting on board with New York Senator Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic nod, or that of former North Carolina Senator John Edwards.
Doyle officially endorsed Obama after the Illinoisan won the Iowa caucuses and did some surrogate campaigning on the senator's behalf -- even debating Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Clinton backer, on CNN during the primary season.
As the fall came, Doyle did little national campaigning for Obama -- usually a prerequisite for a top-level nomination. But the governor was extremely active on Obama's behalf in Wisconsin, a former battleground state that, ultimately, produced a big win for the Democratic presidential candidate.
