Cabinet Rumors Continue

You know of rumors that Sen. John Kerry could be Secretary of State; you know that former Harvard President Larry Summers might be Treasury Secretary. There are lots and lots of other Bay Staters supposedly in the mix for Cabinet posts. Most will turn out to be totally bogus (more interesting will be the mid-level appointments, and the regional offices for HUD, HHS, and Labor), but we should revel in the rumors while we can.

BTW, there's an interesting notion going around that Obama could give a cabinet post to one of Maine's moderate Republican Senators, Olympia Snowe (possibly Commerce Secretary) or Susan Collins (possibly Homeland Security). That would satisfy the "bipartisan" outreach -- and allow Maine Gov. Baldacci to appoint Democrat Tom Allen to the Senate, nudging the party closer to the filibuster-proof 60.

In any event, here are some of the latest Massachusetts cabinet rumors:

--Politico includes Gov. Deval Patrick in its AG rumor list, as many are doing.

--MIT's Ernest Moniz is getting buzz for Energy Secretary, including a mention in this WaPo piece.

--Harvard's Nicolas Retsinas rates an occasional mention for HUD Secretary.

--Harvard's Charles Ogletree is in the AG mix in this CBS News piece.

--AP puts MIT's Jane Garvey, former Logan Airport chief, among the Transportation Secretary possibilities.

--The Globe, among others, is talking about Ian Bowles as head of EPA.