With the change in Presidential Administrations, especially when we switch parties, there are several folks who will be looking for new jobs. On the other side of the aisle, there are thousands of people wanting to fill these positions in the Obama Administration.

Democrats will fill thousands of positions through Presidential appointments. There’s really nothing to worry about, like the Government shutting down or anything that wild, the Federal government will continue to run because most of the work is done by career civil servants.

Here in Montana, people will see changes, too. There will be a new U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, a new U.S. Marshal for the District of Montana, a new State Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, and new director for the Farm Services Agency (FSA) and the FSA five-member board will see a changeover.

It’s the same all over the United States, but since Montana has only one Congressional District called “At-Large” there are less of these appointments.

President-elect Obama will mostly rely on Montana’s senior Senator, Max Baucus, to give him some recommendations for these posts. Of course, Baucus may ask the junior Senator and fellow Democrat, Jon Tester, for some input. When they recommend people, they will put on a united front. These folks must be confirmed in the U.S. Senate. But make no mistake about it, President-elect Obama will count on Max Baucus to recommend the right people for him to nominate for these Presidential appointments.

Nobody would be gullible enough to think that the people placed in these positions are not “friends.” They are. That’s just the way it works.

I would imagine the Baucus offices are already making the plans and have people in mind for these positions and may already have résumés coming in. It’s been eight years since Baucus has gotten to give a real recommendation to the President (that was taken seriously). So Baucus has had time to plan.

Down the road, they may even get to recommend a new Federal Judge if any of the current ones in Montana decides to call it quits.

Controlling the White House and the U.S. Senate does have its perks.

It’s important that the people recommended have decent records because the process is lengthy and many times skeletons can be found during this process or by the media (or bloggers) if they care to look into their pasts.

For me, I’m looking for a Cabinet position, maybe the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. After seeing a few retired four-star generals hanging out with Obama, I don’t think I have a chance for that job. I’m also probably out of the running for Secretary of Defense or for a job as a Secretary of one of the branches of the military. To compound things, I have not been a major donor to any Democratic campaigns or to the Democratic Party.

There have been rumors that Governor Brian Schweitzer may be in line for one of the coveted Obama cabinet positions, like Secretary of Energy or Interior. This appointment would present several issues for him and both the Democrat and Republican Parties in Montana namely Lt. Governor John Bohlinger moving up to Governor or something even wilder happening. We’ll keep our Inbox open for more rumors, like Jon Tester being pegged for Secretary of Agriculture.

I’m sure some of my readers will have other recommendations for the Governor and Senator, so please keep it clean. You can e-mail me any rumors you are hearing about these positions at: Western_WordatYahoo.com