A thorough house-cleaning would temporarily placate Western diplomats, who have been threatening to revoke aid dollars unless Mr. Karzai roots out government graft following his controversial victory in the disputed presidential election.

The risk in such a move is that Mr. Karzai could alienate the cadre of alleged warlords and drug kingpins in his cabinet who wield considerable influence above and beyond their portfolios. If scorned, they could pose a threat to democracy’s unsteady foothold in the country.

“That is the great fear among the people,” said Khalid Pushton, an MP with ties to Mr. Karzai. “But that fear is outweighed by the hope that he doesn’t pick the warlords and drug lords again.”

I ran this by someone who studies this stuff closely, and that person considered the report credible. I’ll believe it when I see the resignations, and will evaluate it when we determine that institutional changes, and not merely personnel changes, have occurred. Karzai attempted to steal an election and, circuitously, ended up getting away with it. That should be all the evidence we need to determine his intentions on the corruption front. But different ministers do stand a chance of hiring more-dedicated civil servants. I want to neither overestimate nor underestimate the impact of this move, but will simply wait to see what unfolds.

Ray LaHood, who represented Illinois in the House for seven terms, sponsored $60 million in earmarks last year, steering at least $9 million in federal money to campaign donors, a Washington Post analysis shows. An opponent of earmark reform efforts in Congress, LaHood ranks roughly among the top 10 percent in the House for sponsoring earmarks in 2008, according to a watchdog group.

LaHood’s record poses an important question as hearings begin today that will explore how he would administer part of a $775 billion stimulus package that will be directed to the Transportation Department. LaHood has defended his use of earmarks as a way to direct federal money to decaying communities in his district and insisted there is no connection between his earmarks and projects benefiting campaign donors.

Among the earmarks:

LaHood’s biggest campaign donor is Peoria’s largest corporation: Caterpillar. The company and its workers have donated more than $190,000 to LaHood since 1998, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Last year, LaHood secured $7.8 million to help the company and its offshoots develop technologies for potential future military contracts.

Last year, he also pushed for $333,000 to construct the new Lakeview Museum in Peoria, part of a project that will include a Caterpillar-financed museum focused on the company’s history.

LaHood sponsored $1.49 million in earmarks directed to Springfield’s Memorial Medical Center to fund the purchase of computer-based simulation technology and other equipment. Memorial and its lobbyist Cassidy and Associates together have given $60,000 to LaHood.

Local road-building companies also have supported LaHood. United Contractors Midwest, led by president James Bruner, is often ranked as his second or third largest donor, and its officials have donated $24,925 to LaHood. Three leading members of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association have given more than $60,000 to LaHood.

President-elect Barack Obama has pledged that there will be no earmarks in the upcoming economic stimulus package (though, as my colleague Dave Weigel recently mused, “One man’s earmark is another man’s shovel-ready project”). Presumably, the new administration will be a bit more concerned with overseeing the disbursement of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money than the current White House occupants, especially in the wake of the TARP debacle.

But still, with revelations yesterday of Treasury Secretary-nominee Tim Geithner’s little tax problem (Wait, he’s supposed to do a better job than Hank Paulson in keeping track of how federal funds are being spent?), and now this, these are not the questions a new administration promising change wants to be answering during cabinet confirmation hearings.

The Rocky Mountain News reports that Denver public schools superintendent Michael Bennet is expected to be named to the Colorado seat by Gov. Bill Ritter, according to two anonymous Democratic sources.

Gov. Bill Ritter is expected to name his U.S. Senate replacement pick on Saturday, ending a brief but frenzied period of speculation about who will take Salazar’s seat. [...]

The selection would be preliminary, since Salazar is not expected to resign his U.S. Senate seat until sometime after Jan. 15, when he faces a confirmation hearing — and later vote — to become President-elect Barack Obama’s first Interior Secretary.

Less definitively, The Associated Press is reporting that New York Gov. David Paterson is “leaning toward” Caroline Kennedy to fill the seat in The Empire State.

Officials say the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy will be the governor’s choice to fill the New York Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Two people close to Gov. David Paterson tell The Associated Press they believe Caroline Kennedy will be his choice, but the governor cautions he’s still looking.

The New York Times reports that during a New Year’s Day open house at the executive mansion, Paterson said “It ain’t nothin’ till I calls it.” The quote recalls a statement once made by legendary baseball umpire Bill Klem.

Neither choice is expected to be physically prevented from entering the Senate chamber, if and when they are officially named.

Solis is considered a strong ally of organized labor, and she supports the Employee Free Choice Act, which would facilitate the formation of unions. Her selection has earned praise from the Service Employees Internation Union. She is the third Hispanic member of Obama’s cabinet, and like Bill Richardson, she gave a substantial portion of her acceptance speech in Spanish.

LaHood, on the other hand, has been criticized by Democrats for his weak environmental record. Some consider him a token Republican, appointed to fulfill Obama’s promise of a bipartisan cabinet — and indeed, Obama said today that “Ray’s appointment reflects that bipartisan spirit.” His primary credential as a transportation progressive appears to be his tempered support for Amtrak. Obama also highlighted his advocacy for aviation and bicycling, and said, “Few understand our infrastructure challenge better than … Ray LaHood.”

As relatively obscure members of Congress, Solis and LaHood stand in contrast to Obama’s previous cabinet appointments, which include two senators (Hillary Clinton for State and Ken Salazar for Interior), a former senator (Tom Daschle for Health and Human Services) and two governors (Richardson for Commerce and Janet Napolitano for Homeland Security). The New Republic argues that their low profile is an indication that labor and transportation may not be top priorities for Obama.

Kirk served as the mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002, and he sought to transform the city into the “capital of NAFTA.” Obama called him a “principled proponent of trade.” The New York Times today highlighted Kirk’s policy differences with Solis over free trade.

Mills is the president of MMP Group in Brunswick, Maine. House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) praised her selection, saying, “This appointment shows that his economic team recognizes the key role that small firms play in job creation and the need to take quick steps to revitalize the agency’s role in spurring growth.”

Obama opened the press conference by applauding President Bush’s $17-billion bailout of the auto industry, arguing that it would contribute to “jobs and wages,” which he called his primary measure of the economy’s success. In the question-and-answer period, he noted that there has been much progress, albeit in “baby steps,” in the negotiations with the auto executives. “We started off with the automakers coming before Congress asking for a blank check,” he said. “And I, like many others, said that’s not gonna fly.”

“My top priority in this administration is going to be to create 2.5 million new jobs,” he continued, “and I want some of those jobs to be in the auto industry.” He added that the concessions made by the auto industry should not be at the expense of the workers and unions.

MSNBC’s Savannah Guthrie asked Obama if there would be a cap to his stimulus spending next year.

“The economic forecasts have deteriorated,” he responded, referencing his conversations with leading economists. “The conclusion has been … that unless you have a bold approach, you could continue to see the economy decline. … That is not acceptable to me, and I don’t think it’s acceptable to the American people.”

Tomorrow, Obama leaves for a family vacation in Hawaii. Conveniently, he will be away when his team releases its report on its interaction with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich next week.

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Rep. Hilda Solis to head the Dept. of Labor, according to reports. The California Democrat has a long record supporting workers in general and unions in particular. Before she arrived in Washington, for example, she led the successful charge to raise California’s minimum wage, according to The Associated Press.

More recently, she’s been a vocal advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow workers to form unions more easily. The controversial bill is widely expected to surface early next year when Democrats will command the White House and stronger congressional majorities.

The Service Employees International Union issued a statement an hour ago calling the choice “great news for America’s workers.”

Solis comes from a union family and has never forgotten her roots in her public service career. Her appointment is a win for the prospects of the Employee Free Choice Act and the economic future for the people of this country who get up and go to work every day.

Environmentalists are praising the pick as well, pointing out that Solis has been on the front-lines of the push to create green jobs. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, issued a statement today saying the group “can think of no better person to help President-Elect Obama implement his plans for an economic recovery fueled by the creation of millions of new green jobs.”

Solis, who sits on both the House energy committee and the special global warming panel, has a lifetime environmental voting record of 97 percent, according to the League of Conservation Voters.

In the wake of criticism aimed at Obama for his recent pick to have Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) run the Dept. of Transportation, this should calm the storm a bit.

LaHood did not serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the long-time member of the House Appropriations Committee did not work on transportation funding. He is a noted opponent of organized labor’s efforts to win legislation easing their ability to unionize work places through the signing of cards rather than through secret elections. That will be a key issue as Democrats move to unionize the Transportation Security Administration, something President Bush adamantly opposed.

This allows Obama to brush off criticisms that he hasn’t followed through on campaign vows to create a bipartisan cabinet. Whether that’s worth angering his liberal base has yet to be seen.

A Chinese-American, Chu is a professor of physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California-Berkeley and has been the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2004, where he has pushed aggressively for research into alternative energy as a way to combat global warming.

It is the oldest of the Energy Department’s national laboratories, but does only unclassified work and in recent years under Chu has been at the center of research into biofuels and solar technologies. Chu has been a strong advocate for the need to engage scientists in the search for ways to combat global warming by replacing fossil fuels with other energy sources such as biofuels and the sun.

If confirmed, Chu would be the second academic Obama has tapped from UC Berkeley, after Christina D. Romer, an economics professor picked to head Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers.

The choice would further confirm that Obama is serious about revolutionizing the nation’s energy policy, and he is willing to look outside of Washington to tap the nation’s top experts in their respective fields.

The strategy is not without risks, as being a good scientist does not necessarily make one a good policymaker. However, Chu’s position as the director of a prominent research laboratory suggests he has experience managing a bureaucracy.

Perhaps most important, the move would close the door on yet another tragic hallmark of the Bush era — in the Obama administration, science will direct America’s energy policy, not vice versa.

President-elect Obama will meet with Al Gore tomorrow in Chicago.

Al Kamen of The Washington Post reported on Friday that next on Obama’s appointment agenda will be top posts related to energy and the environment, including energy secretary, Environmental Protection Agency administrator and secretary of the interior.

Gore has already indicated he’s not personally interested in serving, but the fact that he appears to be involved in an advisory role should go a long way to calm some of the fears about the trajectory of the new administration.

UPDATE: The Obama-Biden transition team confirms.

Tomorrow, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be meeting with former Vice-President Al Gore in Chicago to discuss energy and climate change and how policies in this area can stimulate the economy and create jobs.

The Obama campaign didn’t exist to make me feel good, and the Obama presidency won’t either. I don’t especially like his people punching the dirty [flipping] hippies under the bed, but on the other hand if they manage to convince people that Obama is a sensible centrist who wants to do sensible centrist things like build SUPERTRAINS, get out of Iraq, not torture people or invade random countries, strengthen labor protections, reduce income inequality, improve education, provide health care for people, and reduce poverty, while those DAMNED DIRTY HIPPIES just won’t shut up about their magic ponies, it’s fine by me.

For years we’ve had Democrats railing against those crazy hippies as an excuse to not do all of those things. If Obama’s people are going to rail against the hippies and use it as an excuse to do them, fine with me. If.

Obviously, the media is making far more out of this Democratic divide than exists in the real world, but critics would be well-served to wait and see how Obama actually governs before freaking out about how he’s ignoring progressives. If it turns out that he totally sucks or flails completely and doesn’t deliver any of this stuff, which I’m kind of doubting will be the case, there will be four years to criticize him, with good reason — and then you can vote his sorry butt out of office in 2012.

But the post-partisanship that Obama campaigned on requires concessions from the left as well as the right, and if Obama’s strategy does prove successful for implementing even a few of the things on Atrios’ laundry list — especially considering the disastrous path the country appeared to be on for the past 8 years — it will be hard to argue that sacrificing a liberal Democratic cabinet for the greater good wasn’t worth it.