Well, fuck me. I've been pretty pleased with Obama's picks so far, but the Salazar pick and now this one are real shitcakes.

This is the first of Obama's cabinet picks that leaves me feeling a little disappointed. I guess this is his way of sending a big thank-you to Iowa for helping him get elected; let's just hope that Vilsack ends up losing any arguments he might have with the Energy Sec. and the Climate Czar.

Why the opposition to Vilsack? And who would have been a better pick? - Please do not say Michael Pollan - he does not want the job. And please provide an intelligent answer - thanks!

Since most people here aren't from an agriculture background, I'd be interested to know what you'd expect from an Ag Secretary.

I am an Iowan and I like Vilsack, he was a good governor who knew how to keep a Republican(at the time)Legislature in check. But he is not the best man for this job now because he, along with Tom Harkin who will be the chairman of the Ag committee in the Senate, is too beholden to the corn and soy monoculture that is dependant on hydrocarbon-based energy and fertilizer and who favors the interests of corporate producers over the intersts of consumers and environmentalists.

I do not buy the line that the industrial agricultural complex has the only means of feeding the world via monocultures of genetically modified seedstock because it is premised on an endless supply of cheap energy. Many Iowa farmers assume that high commodity prices will keep them ahead of the game as all of their inputs continue to rise but they cannot depend on adding value to raw protein and sugars and shipping grain halfway around the world in an expensive energy future.

There are many academics in agriculture (like Chu in Energy) who have extensive experience in promoting sustainable food systems who would have been a better choice. My hope is that Vilsack is going to get an earfull from angry consumers and environmentalists and that he then coordinates a new Ag policy with Chu and Browner.

This is really bad news for everyone, unless Chu and Browner can convince Vilsack to go against his own state's big money crop -- corn. Viksack is in favor of corn-based ethanol, which is both energy inefficient and raises the price of corn for food.

Definitely the first big Obama appointment goof, and a big disappointment.

Another great pick by Obama. This guy knows how to get things done and is no freed up from electoral politics to reform the Ag industry. Face it everyone cries about farm subsidies but they will not end soon.

On Salazar I like him a whole lot better as head of DOI than in the senate. His conservation and environmental record is solid with a few quirks but as a US Senator he could do much more damage to Obama's foreign agenda. I trust the CO gov to add a more progressive Senator.

The biggest thing Salazar brings is a guy who can reform a terribly corrupt agency based on his AG experience in CO. Salazar is also a water expert which will be one of the biggest challenges to the DOI.

He actually started an Environmental Crimes Team in CO after a mining scandal so he will bring reform.

Vilsack will do a great job. He isn't a farm guy; he's a very good administrator who can see the story behind the story and address the root of problems. A number of Obama's choices, like Clinton, Napolitano and Daschle, are like that; they didn't make a career of the areas they've been selected for, but they're skilled politicians who have vision and can get their functionaries to get it done. I wouldn't be particularly worried about what Vilsack did as Governor of Iowa; he was looking after the interests of his farmers. Now, he'll be carrying out Obama's policies. And I don't see Kleefeld's argument, either; both Harkin and Grassley support a hard subsidy cap. I have some cred, by the way; I've been an agricultural reporter for 28 years, ten of them in Iowa, and I interviewed Vilsack when he was still a state Senator.