Ray LaHood: A Second Look

When the Cabinet line-up was announced, I wondered why a relatively obscure downstate Illinois Republican Congressman with shallow background in transportation ended up being tapped as Secretary of Transportation. But in a relatively short amount of time (let's remember the Obama administration is barely five months old), Ray LaHood is proving to be an outspoken and highly visible advocate for transportation reform.

National transportation policy used to revolve around highway spending and aviation policy. But there is a new sheriff in town:

"What we’ve talked about is getting to a concept that we call livable communities, where people don’t have to get in a car every day. You can use light rail, you can use buses, you can use walking paths, you can use your bike."

The quote comes from an irreverent interview in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday. He stresses repair of America's crumbling transportation infrastructure -- and making new investments, including high speed rail.

He also stresses his role in the larger Obama team. One of the most promising hallmarks of the new administration is the vocal commitment to better coordination between the disparate Federal departments and agencies.

To paraphrase Obama's most memorable lines from his 2004 convention keynote address: rebuilding the economy is not confined to the Treasury Department, confronting climate change is not confined to the EPA and reducing dependence on foreign oil is not confined to the Department of Energy -- they are all challenges for the United States of America. Every one of them involves a key role for the Department of Transportation. And it appears we have a Secretary who understands this.