Rendell would accept cabinet post under Obama

Gov. Ed Rendell said today that while he has no intention of cutting his second term short, he would be interested in a cabinet post later if U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) were president.

Speaking on a TV talk-show on Harrisburg's public access station Thursday night, Rendell spotlighted Secretary of Energy and Secretary of Transportation as two posts he would be particularly interested in filling, The Associated Press reports.

Those positions, he said, would "absolutely" be his first choices if Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, wins the White House in November.

Rendell's name has frequently been floated as a possible running mate for Obama, speculation Rendell has always dismissed. He has always maintained that he wants to finish out his term in Harrisburg, which expires in 2011.

"Would I love to go down to Washington in January of 2011 and serve President Obama in some capacity -- secretary of energy, secretary of transportation? Sure," he said on WITF-TV's "Smart Talk" program.

"But I'm not leaving" the governor's office early, he said. "I know that probably disappoints some people over in the Capitol."