Hillary @ MindSay

The "presidential line of succession" defines who may become or act as President of the United States upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment and subsequent conviction) of a sitting president or a president-elect.

-Wikipedia

President-elect Obama doesn't have his entire cabinet picked out yet, but from what he has given us to work with and with some pure speculation on my part, let's take a look at who could possibly become the leader of our nation should something awful happen.
1. President - Barack Obama
2. Vice President - Joe Biden
      The pride of Scranton. Mrs. Biden's baby boy Joe is known for being excessively long-winded in his speeches. He also supports reinstating the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and voted to ban semi-automatic firearms.  
3. Speaker of the House - Nancy Pelosi
      Called for the denouncement of China and voted in favor of keeping the travel restrictions for Americans to Cuba. Pelosi also voted for the use of federal funds (read: taxpayer money) to perform abortions in overseas military facilities. Also among her voting record: FOR the 2008 Bailout, FOR the Patriot Act, For No Child Left Behind, FOR increased Medicaid & Medicare, AGAINST drilling in ANWAR. She is also a supporter of amnesty & rights to illegal immigrants.
4. Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton
      Power hungry Hillary. Universal healthcare. Somehow being the First Lady gives her a lifetime of experience...
5. Secretary of the Treasury - Tim Geithner
      President of the NY Fed, which is an illegal & unconstitutional institution. His grandfather was an adviser to President Eisenhower & coincidentally the vice president of Ford Motor Company. Played a role in the decision to bailout AIG.
6. Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
      Replaced Rumsfeld in 2006 under Bush. President-elect Obama has offered him the position under the new administration and Gates has supposedly accepted.
7. Attorney General - Eric Holder
      If approved, Holder would be the first black Attorney General. He served under Janet Reno in the Clinton administration.

Following those already mentioned would be the Sec. of the Interior(Sally Jewell/John Kitzhaber), Sec. of Agriculture(Tom Vilsack), Sec. of Commerce (Bill Richardson), and the Secretary of Labor.

I don't think America has ever had to go past the Vice President and since JFK the succession list hasn't been needed at all. But just in case you were wondering... there it is.

ohhhh... Edit!
We had to go to Gerald Ford after Nixon resigned.
    

Looks like its official - or soon to be, Hillary Clinton will be the new Secretary of State. And, as you might guess, I think this is a bad move.  I thought Condoleezza Rice wasn't a very good choice either. Not that I'm some type of sexist asshole or anything, but most of our concerns abroad are centered in the Middle East where women are viewed as lesser people than men. If we intend  to open any sort of dialogue with leaders in the Middle East, they are much more likely to be responsive to a male figure. The exception to this may be in Israel, where they are a little nervous about Obama, but we're already in somewhat good standing there so that might be irrelevant. 
Hillary was critical of Obama's foreign policy experience before he won the nomination, but she doesn't have much experience herself. Also, Bill Clinton does lots of paid appearance speaking around the world which could possibly cause some conflict.
I think Bill Richardson would have been a much better choice, in keeping with Obama's 'cabinet of rivals' scheme.

That's it for political talk.

Been on the road all day, running errands and spending time/money with my family. It was nice. We even got a little bit of Christmas shopping done. Now I'm having a glass of merlot and then going to bed. Cause I'm always tired. Always.

and if you didn't download that Jakob Dylan album I linked to last time, wow, you're missin' out.

• I thought it was funny that someone called McCain : John McSame
• I thought his pick was a slap in the face for women, and only done to incite more of a stand still in the election than anything. Smart women will not vote for McCain just because he has a woman on his ticket. They will either vote because they like him, vote for Obama because they don't...or McCain will have made people so angry that they refuse to vote at all.
• Hillary needs to get into the cabinet officially for Obama if he has a chance at keeping smart women on his side.
• I cannot stand Obama's running mate. From the moment I heard his name, my stomach began to churn.
• I can respect that Palin has beliefs that line up with my own (homeschool & creation science mainly). I almost wish that she was on Obama's team instead of McCains so it would make this election easier for me. *mind you I said almost*
• I am still waiting for Obama to come out with some form of statement about homeschooling other than the one liner in his book that most people will not read before the election. That one line makes it sound like people only homeschool when they cant afford to send their children to school every day.
• I'm tired of people using the fact that Palin kept her child knowing it had Down's Syndrome as a sole reason to vote for McCain. You have got to be nuts if that is the ONLY reason you are with her.
• If Obama could actually live up to what he speaks, I would be happy. I just have a bad feeling either way this election goes that we are all screwed.