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WASHINGTON: The US President, Mr Barack Obama does not have time for a victory lap now that his Cabinet is finally largely in place.

One level down, he faces gaping holes in the ranks he needs to fill if there is to be any hope of turning his ambitious agenda into action on health care, the environment and much more.

After a spurt of recent activity that followed a problem-plagued start, Mr Obama is outpacing Mr George W Bush and Mr Bill Clinton on appointments.

But Mr Obama, like his two immediate predecessors, is bogged down in a system that has grown increasingly cumbersome over the years. And he's added tougher-than-ever background checks and ethics rules.

What's at stake is much more than bragging rights for how quickly Mr Obama can fill in an organisational chart with names for undersecretary of this and deputy assistant secretary of that.

These are the people Obama needs to carry out all sorts of promised initiatives and policy shifts, and to assure that the US stays safe along the way.

The NASA is awaiting a new administrator, at the Interior Department. Mr Obama has yet to name a replacement to lead the Minerals Management Service and he has not picked someone to head the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

All told, Mr Obama has about 500 appointments to make that are subject to Senate confirmation, and about 3,000 positions to fill overall, an expert estimates.

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