ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 14, 1996 TAG: 9612160061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Making big strides toward filling his second-term lineup, President Clinton brought in fresh faces Friday by nominating Chicago's Bill Daley as commerce secretary and globe-lapping lawmaker Bill Richardson as U.N. ambassador.
Injecting old and new blood into a dozen senior administration posts, the president also lifted Attorney General Janet Reno from second-term limbo by extending her tenure. And he gave form to his new economic team, deciding in the end to shape it much like the old.
Plenty of work remains before Inauguration Day: At least four Cabinet seats need filling; the White House staff restructuring has barely begun; and progress on replacing a key economic adviser stalled at the last minute.
But the president still hopes to fill his Cabinet and announce senior White House additions by Christmas.
In a moment of unintended excitement at Friday's ceremony, Daley toppled off the small stage. ``Where's my doctor?'' Clinton shouted, but then he quickly explained that Daley had fainted beneath the TV lights. Daley was helped off stage, but later returned to show he was fine.
Clinton also named:
*Gene Sperling, 37, to replace Laura Tyson as chairman of the National Economic Council, the Clinton-created center for economic advice. Appointing the relatively inexperienced Sperling ensured that economic policy will continue to be dominated by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.
*Charlene Barshefsky, the acting U.S. trade representative, to serve full time. She must be confirmed, though, and her private work for Canada poses a legal obstacle.
Reaction from Capitol Hill was muted. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi singled Richardson out for serving in the Congress ``with distinction.''
With Daley taking Commerce, longtime Clinton aide Rodney Slater emerged as the likely pick for transportation secretary, which was Daley's No. 2 choice. Slater, the Federal Highway Administrator, is undergoing a final background check.
Daley, 48, is part of Chicago's legendary Daley clan - brother of Mayor Richard Daley and son of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. A longtime Clinton backer, he was all but promised a Cabinet post in 1992 but didn't get it.
Clinton, who tapped Daley to help pass the North American Free Trade Agreement, said the lawyer ``embodies the values of hard work and fair play, faith and family.''
Richardson, 49, an eight-term New Mexico Democrat, has served as Clinton's unofficial American ambassador to rogue states and desperate situations. He negotiated the release of Americans in North Korea, Iraq, Bangladesh and the Sudan.
Just this week, Richardson dined on barbecued goat in a rebel chieftain's hut, ``negotiating the freedom of three hostages'' in Sudan, Clinton said.
Richardson's confirmation would assure Clinton at least one Hispanic in his Cabinet. Clinton has two this term, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena and Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, and Hispanic groups want just as many this time. Slater, in line to replace Pena, is black.
The president also spoke on the role of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in his second term. The State Department has asked her to work on ``human rights around the world,'' the president said.
Clinton said the first lady also would continue her work on children, family and related issues.
With little fanfare, Clinton answered one of the transition's greatest questions: Will Reno stay or go?
He lumped her in with Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and EPA director Carol Browner, saying they all had agreed to remain in the Cabinet. While the jobs of Shalala and Browner were never in doubt, Reno's status remained uncertain for weeks. White House aides anonymously predicted her departure, and Clinton fueled the speculation by refusing to publicly endorse her.
Some in the White House wanted the independent-minded attorney general out because she sought outside prosecutors that investigated the administration.
Aides said Clinton had declined to discuss the situation publicly because he did not want to be accused of trying to influence Reno's decision on whether to request an independent counsel to investigate Democratic fund raising.
She decided this month not to seek the outside inquiry but formed a Justice Department task force instead.
Clinton took action on 12 posts, though nine of them involved aides who were simply reappointed or given slightly modified duties.
Next week promises to be busy. Aides said Clinton hopes to:
*Name a replacement for Joseph Stiglitz, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Clinton's choice, Alan Blinder, dropped out at the last minute. The new front-runner: Janet Yellen, a member of the seven-member Federal Reserve Board.
*Fill Cabinet seats at the departments of Energy, Labor, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
*Fill out the top ranks of the White House. Chief of staff Erskine Bowles is close to naming his deputies: John Podesta, a former White House troubleshooter, and Sylvia Mathews, chief of staff for Treasury Secretary Rubin. Carol Rasco, the domestic policy adviser, is expected to find other work in the administration.
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Daley, Richardsonby CNB