CABINET UP FOR GRABS

By VINCENT MORRIS

October 31, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to undertake a major revamp of his Cabinet if elected to a second term, with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge tipped to leave Washington.

If Kerry wins the White House, he would like to include New York's high-flying Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and independently minded Republican John McCain in his lineup, sources said.

Although Bush and Kerry are gripped in a fierce electoral contest, key advisers for both sides are spending some time considering the makeup of their potential Cabinet teams.

On the Bush side, one of the most likely departures is Powell, whose stature has been diminished substantially since the invasion of Iraq and whose wife was never eager for him to enter politics anyway.

Aides say Powell, one of the few top-level advisers known to have differed with Bush on foreign-policy issues, is eager to leave the administration.

"If Powell leaves, there goes the one voice that has been dissenting. It will be interesting to watch whether Bush appoints a neo-con like himself, or gets someone like Powell," said Clyde Wilcox, a government professor at Georgetown University.

Bush could decide to move one of his closest aides, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, into Powell's slot.

The rest is at the New York Post