President-elect Barack Obama said he will act with “deliberate haste” in the transition period, but he wants to “emphasize ‘deliberate’ as much as ‘haste.’” True to his word, Obama has been continuously rolling out picks for future cabinet and White House Staff members since shortly after his election. Here, The Oracle takes a closer look at the roles of six White House Staff positions and the political histories of the people selected to fill those roles.

The Secretary of State is the head of the Department of State, which is concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is the highest-ranking cabinet secretary and fourth in line to become president. The Secretary of State drafts proclamations, replies to inquiries, negotiates with foreign representatives and instructs U.S. embassies abroad. She also serves as a principal adviser to the President in the determination of U.S. foreign policy.

Obama surprised many when he and future Secretary Hillary Clinton agreed to work together in the cabinet. Clinton, known globally as the First Lady when Bill Clinton was president from 1992 to 2000, also ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination earlier this year against Obama. Clinton was the junior Senator from New York prior to her nomination. She brings years of foreign policy experience from her years as first lady, traveling to over 79 countries as one of the most prominent international figures of the nineties.

The Chief of Staff is the second highest-ranking member in the executive office. Roles include overseeing the actions of the White House staff, managing the president’s schedule, negotiating with Congress and deciding who is allowed to meet with the president.

Born into a Jewish family, Rahm Emanuel worked as a senior adviser to former president Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2002, representing Illinois. He organized the Democratic takeover of the House in 2006. Emanuel is known for his straightforward and sometimes combative approach to politics, earning him nicknames like “Rahmbo” and “the pitbull politician.” Political analysts say that his aggressive tactics offer contrast to Barack Obama’s calmer attitude.

The Secretary of Energy oversees the Department of Energy. The Department’s mission is to further developments on five fronts: energy security, nuclear security, scientific discovery and innovation, environmental responsibility and management excellence.

Steven Chu is the current director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as well as a professor of physics and biology at UC Berkeley. He is the former chair of physics at Stanford University. Chu was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1997 for his research on cooling and trapping atoms. He is known as an advocate for renewable energy and the reduction of greenhouse gases. As Secretary of Energy, Chu will be responsible for activating President-elect Barack Obama’s plan to combat global warming emissions and increase efficiency in the national energy system, though officials warn that the energy team will face opposition from the oil powerhouses. Chu is familiar with the Palo Alto community, as he is uncle of Gunn senior Jason Chu.

The Attorney General leads the Department of Justice and manages legal affairs. The position plays the chief law enforcement role in the United States. The Attorney General also acts as the chief lawyer of the United States government. It is the only cabinet department head not given the title “Secretary.”

Eric Holder will be the first African American Attorney General. In 1988, former President Ronald Reagan appointed Holder as the a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 1993, former President Clinton appointed him as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 2007, Holder joined Obama’s presidential campaign as a senior legal advisor. He favors closing Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, opposes the Patriot Act and is critical of the U.S. torture policy. He has criticized the Bush administration’s “disrespect for the rule of law.”

The Secretary of Defense leads the department that oversees the armed services and other military matters. The Secretary of Defense is the principal defense policy adviser to the President, and he is responsible for creating a general defense policy.

Robert Gates is the incumbent Secretary, having served under Bush since 2006. Prior to his work on Bush’s cabinet, Gates was recruited for the CIA in 1966, which he worked for intermittently until 1974, when he joined the National Security Council. Gates has had a close relationship to George W. Bush, but now he faces a new challenge, as Obama plans to withdraw all troops from Iraq within 16 months. Gates’ other primary priority is to review U.S. foreign policy for the new administration and reassess the strategy in Afghanistan.

The Secretary of Commerce is concerned with business and industry. The Department of Commerce states its mission to be “to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce.” The Commerce Secretary also leads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which governs a number of organizations, from the National Weather Service to fisheries management.

Bill Richardson is the governor of New Mexico and previously represented New Mexico in Congress for 15 years. Richardson served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under former president Clinton in 1997. From 1998 to 2001, Richardson served as Clinton’s Secretary of Energy. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination during the election cycle against Obama and Hillary Clinton. Richardson’s primary responsibilities will include building a clean-energy industry, creating more domestic green jobs and ultimately reducing the United States’ dependency on oil, according to Obama.