It's true: Senator Hillary Clinton will be Obama's new Secretary of State, Timothy Geithner will be the Secretary of the Treasury, and Governor Bill Richardson will be the Secretary of Commerce.  There are also unconfirmed rumors that Gen. Robert Gates will stay on as Secretary of Defense.

Geithner is a highly qualified economic authority who is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and was a central player in this year's financial rescue plans.  We all know Clinton, and Richardson is the Governor of New Mexico with enormous experience.

Congratulations, all.  Obama's cabinet is certainly shaping up to be a powerful one, for better or worse.

Sen. Ted Stevens, longtime Republican from Alaska, has lost his drawn-out race for his seat to Democrat March Begich.  That gives the Democrats 58 senate seats; 60 are needed to close debate, and there are two races still in the air.  Stevens was convicted of felony a week before Nov. 4, and is appealing.

In other news, it appears that president-elect Obama has selected Tom Daschle to be his health secretary, meaning the capable Daschle will be the one who writes Obama's proposal to revamp the health care system.