The Thomas B. Fordham Institute is asking Washington insiders for their thoughts on who Barack Obama might pick for the next secretary of education, and guess who's on the list? Freeman Hrabowski, UMBC's president (not someone else in our area).

Fordham is keeping a new daily tracking poll of the rumors. Hrabowski appears way down, in seventh in the polls, but he might be an interesting choice, according to Fordham's Mike Petrilli, because he is the only one on the list from higher education.

Others mentioned include Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools; Joel Klein, the chancellor of New York City schools; Colin Powell, the former secetary of state; and Jim Hunt, the former governor of North Carolina.

I am not sure that anyone knows anything right now, but it is fun to pass on the speculation.