Yesterday's Senate vote to confirm Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary is one more step toward President Obama's completing his Cabinet. There's still the matter of Attorney General-designate Eric Holder, whose confirmation vote will take place tomorrow in the Senate Judiciary Committee, before it reaches the full Senate. But it's still not 100 percent. Hence this question from Nate Beck of Akron, Ohio:

What's happening with the commerce secretary nomination? Since Bill Richardson withdrew, I've heard diddlysquat about who might replace him.

To recap, Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, withdrew his name from consideration on Jan. 4 amid an ongoing federal investigation into pay-to-play activities involving the state government. No one has been named to fill the post, though some were suggesting William Daley. The brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Bill Daley was commerce secretary during the Clinton administration.

What I'm hearing now is that it's going to be John Thompson, the outgoing CEO of Symantec, the Silicon Valley network security firm that makes the Norton anti-virus program, among other things. Thompson is 59, African-American and a fundraiser for Democratic causes; he gave money to the Obama campaign as well as the inauguration. He has been enthusiastically endorsed for the post by California Sen. Barbara Boxer. I'm guessing it's Thompson.

Back to the Geithner vote. It was 60-34, with most Democrats voting yes and most Republicans voting no. But three Dems — Tom Harkin of Iowa, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Robert Byrd of West Virginia — voted against Geithner, as did independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. We can talk about the pressing economic needs until we're blue in the face, and we probably will. But Geithner's failure to pay his taxes on time and his constant acknowledging of "mistakes" during his confirmation hearings were certainly an inauspicious beginning for someone with a very important position.

Tags: Questions From The Reader