Obama's Secretary of Transportation

President elect Barack Obama selected former Illinois Republican Representative Ray Lahood to head the Department of Transportation. At first this seemed like a pretty uneventful pick, other than him being one of a handful of Republicans in Obama's cabinet, luckily we have the great John Kass at the Chicago Tribune to fill us in on Lahood's background. According to Kass, Lahood is tight with Bill Cellini, the most powerful Republican in Illinois state politics. Cellini is also the head of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association, which I'm sure is an entirely reputable organization, and close to both Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Gov. Blagojevich. Since Lahood will likely have enormous influence over where the $800 billion plus stimulus package is directed, I'm sure there are some pretty happy people in the Italian restaurants and social clubs of Chicago. Don't expect the mainstream media to delve into Lahood's background, they will be content to mention that he is a Republican, thus proving once again Obama's great commitment to bipartisanship. If the national media had a few more journalists like Kass, we might actually be able to hold a politician accountable once in a while.