As I predicted, Arizona governor Janet Napolitano got a big bounce on the education secretary front from the news that she's not likely to get the nod for the Attorney General job. United Negro College Fund president Michael Lomax is now viewed as the most likely higher ed alternative. And New Mexico governor Bill Richardson's star is rising too (my campaigning is clearly paying off).
Other mentions today: Colin Powell (out of the "top contenders" race for the first time), Hugh Price, Caroline Kennedy, Peter McWalters, Wendy Kopp, Tim Kaine, Ted Mitchell, Linda Darling-Hammond (with her first mention today), Jim Hunt, Erskine Bowles, Jim Shelton, and Alan Bersin.