Obama's Cabinet is Light on Women

What US president holds the distinction of nominating the most women to his Cabinet at the start of his first term? Is it George W. Bush or Bill Clinton...or will it be Barack Obama?

It's Bill Clinton, who began with five and - according to NOW President Kim Gandy - had 9 out of 19 Cabinet positions filled by women during his tenure in the White House.

In fact, Obama's total of four female appointees is on the light side; he currently ties with George W. who also started out with four women in Cabinet-level positions. That's a dubious honor at best.

Obama still has the opportunity to up his numbers as Al Kamen of the Washington Post observed yesterday:

So where could Obama place more female candidates? Only three Cabinet positions remain open, and all bets are that a woman could land at the Labor Department, where the two leading contenders are Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and Mary Beth Maxwell, the founding executive director of American Rights at Work, a pro-union advocacy group.

Women's groups are disappointed that more women aren't being placed in these top leadership posts. I am too, although I understand that political appointments are tricky at best.

If I had to make a trade, I'd sacrifice a Cabinet-level position for a Supreme Court nominee who's female. That's the basket we need to put our eggs in, especially in light of recent rulings and decisions the Court will soon be making in the upcoming year.