A great Freudian slip!

I'm going to post the entire story as it appeared on the Gazette website. (I suspect the AP will make a correction so the link may no longer show the mistake.)

Read carefully:

The Associated Press

DES MOINES - U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin says the confirmation hearing for former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as the nation's next agriculture secretary will be on Jan. 14.

President-elect Barack Obama chose Harkin for the post. Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, predicts an easy confirmation for Vilsack.

Vilsack served two terms as governor, winning election in 1998 and in 2002. He did not run again in 2006 and made a brief run for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Since leaving office, Vilsack has taught at Drake University's law school in Des Moines and has been a consultant with a variety of clients.

Did you catch that? "Obama chose Harkin for the post."

He sure did.

Obama didn't pick Vilsack based on real agricultural experience. My being raised on a farm gives me more agricultural experience than Vilsack.

Obama chose Vilsack for three reasons:

1. Harkin, chair of the Senate Agriculture committee, wanted him. Harkin is well liked in the liberal community and had begun to grumble about Obama's cabinet picks. Perhaps Harkin was grumbling just to help Vilsack get the nod.

2. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance committee, wants to coast to reelection in 2010. As every Iowan knows, he WILL coast to victory. A poll out in November showed that one Democrat could give him a race: Tom Vilsack. It's no wonder that Grassley positively gushed about the appointment... his only real opponent had been eliminated. The Finance committee position gives Grassley has more power than most Iowans are aware of... Grassley probably won't vote for Obama's plans but he may be less likely to lead the resistance.

3. Iowa. God love us, we will still be the first game to play in 2012. It all started in Iowa in 2008 and Obama will never forget that. A bunch of old white Iowans (with the help of some younger white Iowans) showed up on caucus night with numbers nobody believed possible. Like Jimmy Carter in 1980, Iowa will be the new President's firewall against an attack from the left.

(My original posts following Vilsack's selection can be read here and here.)