Greg Craig's New Mantra: The President Is Not Your Mascot

But fat cats should not despair. Obama added that it would be "disingenuous" to say he won't appoint non-career folks. So there's hope you'll still be able to buy a decent spot somewhere. But you might want to think small and brush up on your language skills. Pols and pals and contributors usually get only about 25 to 30 percent of the roughly 170 country ambassadorships, but they are always the plummest spots.

The Foggy Bottom Crowd

Speaking of Clinton, she's filling out the ranks of the top assistant secretaries -- look for Richard R. Verma, former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and now a member of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, to get the nod for assistant secretary for legislative affairs -- but it's unclear where her top Senate aides will end up. That includes chief of staff Cheryl Mills, foreign policy adviser Andrew Shapiro, spokesman Philippe Reines, traveling chief of staff Huma Abedin and senior adviser Lona Valmoro. While the exact jobs aren't certain, you'll probably see them pretty close to Madam Secretary's seventh-floor office.

An April Reprieve

Speaking of ambassadorships, Obama's folks had told all the politicals to resign effective Jan. 20. Apparently with that in mind, the U.S. ambassador to Hungary, April H. Foley, who went out with the current president when both were at Harvard Business School, had scheduled a farewell reception for Wednesday.

Then, according to a Jan. 9 cancellation notice obtained by the Cable, a Foreign Policy magazine blog, the president-elect's transition team is extending her tenure until April 7. It's possible this move came after a personal request from Bush when he met with Obama on Jan. 7, the blog suggests.

Keeping Up . . .

Fred Hochberg, deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration in the Clinton administration, looks to be in line to become head of the Export-Import Bank -- a job that April Foley had before she went to Budapest.

Hochberg, who is openly gay and the heir to the Lillian Vernon catalogue business, is a mega-donor to the Dems.

It's looking as if Julius Genachowski, a longtime Obama pal from Harvard Law School days, is the pick to be running the Federal Communications Commission. Genachowski was talked about for the post of chief technology officer, but the FCC may be more to his liking.

Baltimore health commissioner Joshua Sharfstein, formerly an aide to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), is said to be the leading contender to run the Food and Drug Administration. He has advocated stronger FDA oversight on the safety and effectiveness of cough and cold medications for kids.

Whit Peters, former secretary of the Air Force in the Clinton administration and now a lawyer here, is talked about for general counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

On the Hill, David Krone, a cable and technology entrepreneur, top official at Comcast and formerly executive director of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, has just come on board to be a senior adviser and handle political outreach, messaging and policy for Reid. Not a moment to soon, given how things have been going lately for Reid.

Moving Out . . .

Charles E. Allen, chief intelligence officer for the Department of Homeland Security since 2005 and a highly decorated CIA veteran, is leaving Jan. 20 after 50 years of government service, officials said.

Allen, 72, earned the CIA's highest commendations over 47 years at the agency and received DHS's top award in December 2007 for helping put on firmer ground the department's nascent domestic intelligence operation.

Senior CIA officials typically return for a three-month debriefing process, but Allen has not announced his plans, reports Congressional Quarterly blogger Jeff Stein.

With Philip Rucker