Barack Obama’s picks for his Cabinet and other high positions has something for just about everyone. He has chosen Republicans, Hispanics, Asians, African-Americans, women and the possibility of a gay Secretary of the Navy looms as a real possibility. Obama claims it is the most diverse government in history. However, there is one group conspicuously left out. That is Southerners.

Obama’s choice of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk as U.S. Trade Representative is the only real Southerner in the group.

Some have Southern ties. Hillary Clinton has those years in Arkansas, but she grew up in Illinois and chose New York to run for Senator. She does not quite fit the description.

The same applies to Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson. She did grow up in New Orleans, but has spent her adult life in New Jersey and New York. That is a weak link.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has lived in Texas for sometime, but he is a native Midwesterner. He now lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Obama does have Alabama native Robert Gibbs as his Press Secretary. A high-profile position with little power is a dry bone to throw to the south.

Some think it is a deliberate snub.

“Southerners need not apply. It’s hard to believe that there wasn’t anybody qualified for something from the South,” said Georgia Congressman Jack Kingston.

In a way, this is surprising. Obama carried Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. Those were essential states for McCain. As the campaign wore on and those states remained competitive, McCain had to play defense and never got back in the game.

A few analysts say Obama is looking westward as a prime area for Democratic influence. He did pick several Westerners, Bill Richardson, Ken Salazar and Janet Napolitano, for high positions. Still, combine the electoral votes of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico and that adds to 24. That is still short of Florida’s 27. If Obama is looking ahead to 2012, his electoral math is fuzzy.

On the other side, maybe the South has had more than its share of political power over the last generation. Since 1976, the only President without a Southern connection was Ronald Reagan. Southerners may be living with an exaggerated sense of power when Southern swing states made the difference in the election of a President. Carter and Clinton needed the South to win. The South gave Obama a comfortable victory, but he did not need it to become elected.

The South is a large area and it may now be inaccurate to lump it together. The west has its Rocky Mountain states and Pacific Coast states. Although they are moving closer politically, they are still quite different.

The South is developing a similar break. Texas is a special case in itself because of its size and huge Hispanic population. The lower Mississippi River/Appalachia area from Oklahoma to Kentucky to Alabama is hardcore Republican territory. Its inhabitants represent the old South. The Atlantic coast from Virginia to Florida is turning blue and represents the new South. This is the area Obama wants to keep in his victory column, and he just might assume that political philosophy means more there than geographical nepotism. Four years will tell.

Unless there are some unexpected selections, Obama may need to hope that Gibbs emphasizes that slow Alabama drawl to keep Southerners entranced through the next election.