john-hickenlooper-2Gov. Hickenlooper appears to have quickly rebounded from the revelation by Wikileaks that he was never a contender for Hillary’s veep, despite his stealth PR campaign. Now his team is telling Beltway press that he’s shooting for the Miss Congeniality prize, the top cabinet post in the Agriculture Department.

It’s an evolving list, Politico tells us, that Clinton’s confident transition team may consider, and Hick’s chances don’t look bright.

Also on the list are Karen Ross, agriculture secretary of California, Kathleen Merrigan, former deputy secretary of agriculture, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, and former Arkansas U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

If Clinton wins the presidency, the dynamics for selecting the nominee for agriculture secretary are also likely to change significantly based on the makeup of more sought-after cabinet nominations, since Clinton has pledged that half of her cabinet would be women. For now, three of the top five contenders are women — Ross, Lincoln and Merrigan — and all have long track records in agriculture.

Most insiders are leaning towards actual agriculture secretaries for the post, and are puzzled that Hick’s hat has been thrown into the ring because he disagrees with Hillary on TPP and he is the former mayor of Denver, which is not exactly an agriculture community, they opine.

Someone close to Hillary’s transition team actually mocked Hick’s chances.

“The conservation community likes his beer more than they like his chances of being agriculture secretary,” quipped one source familiar with their thinking.

Keep sending out those resumes, Hick. We don’t think this job is for you.