Obama's Dream Team: Who Will Make Up His Administration?

Nov. 7, 2008— -- The balloons had barely settled in Grant Park before President-elect Barack Obama got down to business and began selecting members of his Cabinet and transition team.

On Jan. 21, Obama will inherit a nation that is in financial turmoil and waging two wars overseas -- making a quick, smooth transition imperative. He has already named Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., as his chief of staff and set up meetings with an economic advisory board.

How the president-elect handles the transition period can chart the course for the beginning of his term. Some believe President Bill Clinton handicapped himself in his first year by not moving quickly enough during the transition period. Clinton did not select his first chief of staff, Leon Panetta, until just days before inauguration.

But Obama appears to be avoiding the same mistakes by making quick appointments. Here are the official Obama appointments and other potential candidates for the new administration.

The second-term Arizona governor Janet Napolitano is an adviser to Barack Obama's transition team. Napolitano, an early supporter of the president-elect, is a popular Democrat in Republican-leaning Arizona, which went in the election for the native son, Obama opponent John McCain.

She pushed to limit greenhouse emissions and the Washington Post has announced her as one of the contenders for the position of attorney general. Napolitano was Arizona's first female attorney general prior to her appointment as governor. She has been outspoken on immigration issues and has been an outspoken advocate of more federal government's responsibility in border control issues.