That said, we can't spare JSK - especially with the prospect of an additional 4 years (the only good reason to support Bloomie's self-interested term-limits change -- although don't think that we weren't going to pressure any incoming mayoral administration to not screw up such a good thing!).

While I respect the French, the Japanese system is where it's at in terms of train travel across the board in my (never so) humble opinion.

Who knows how the jobs scale between city comish and executive cabinet, but holy crap, JSK's (and Jim Oberstar's) presence in the Obama admin makes me weepy in joy (again)!

I'd be especially excited for the urban and metropolitan perspective she'd bring to the process. For decades, rural needs and goods movement have dominated debate and decision-making regarding the federal transportation program. With JSK in charge of USDOT, we'd see a bigger emphasis on regionalism, personal transportation, quality of life and urban ecology. She would bring the outsider's perspective that Obama seeks and could help redefine the values reflected in the national transportation program.

Think like the FDR-LaGuardia-Moses connection except, you know, less creepy and domineering.

And maybe my brain is stuck but I just don't see the strengths she has demonstrated in New York being as applicable nationally. The federal government is responsible for interstate travel, which simply is not human scale—walking or riding a bicycle across states is not generally practical. To the extent that the federal government involves itself in local transportation, it should A) stop boosting automobile uses and B) stop involving itself altogether. As JSK herself has demonstrated, the best local transportation changes are locally motivated, implemented, and managed. What we need at the federal level is a substantial investment in interstate railroads (a government buyout of the tracks that Amtrak does not own, for starters), and I should think the best person for that job would have a railroad background, someone that runs commuter rail on time and cost effectively.

That said, JSK is the queen bee of my transportation world and if she does want the position (are these even rumors, or just speculation?) she has my support.