Clinton 'Disenchanted' With The Senate

The New York Times reports that one factor in Hillary Clinton's decision on moving to the Cabinet is a disappointment with the Senate:

The uncertainty, a week after Mr. Obama met with Mrs. Clinton in Chicago to discuss the idea of her leading the State Department, kept Washington spinning in feverish speculation about whether the two former rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination would team up. Mrs. Clinton was keeping counsel only with a tight circle of confidants, leaving even prominent veterans of the Clinton political operation guessing as to her intentions.

But driving her consideration, friends said, is a sense of disenchantment with the Senate, where despite her stature she remains low in the ranks of seniority that governs the body. She was particularly upset, they said, at the reception she felt she received when she returned from the campaign after collecting 18 million votes and almost becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party.

"Her experience in the Senate with some of her colleagues has not been the easiest time for her," said one longtime friend who insisted on anonymity in exchange for sharing Mrs. Clinton's sentiments. "She's still a very junior senator. She doesn't have a committee. And she's had some disappointing times with her colleagues."

Read more about Hillary Clinton and the Secretary of State post here.

Comments

[mistlesuede]

Isn't HRC on the Armed Services committee? She isn't a chair yet because other Senators who have been there for eons have those appointments.

[HillaryGoAway]

Let's be real. At least half of Hillary's 18 million votes were cast for her because of her last name and Bill's accomplishments. I also think that up until now masses of Democrats have just habitually gone along with the establishment candidate. To say that all those 18 mil votes were cast for her as specific individual is a big stretch.

[EarthToZoey]

To say that all of Barack Obama's votes were cast for him as an individual were for him specifically would be a stretch as well, don't you think?

I love "facts" like your second sentence. Did you get that from Nate Silver or your rear end?

If "the masses" have habitually gone with the "establishment candidate" up until now, why did Nader pull so many votes from Gore in 2000? Or Perot take in such a decent margin from both Bush and Clinton?

[butterworth]

Well, I think HillaryGoAway is correct when he/she says most people vote for the "establishment candidate". Your own examples of Ralph Nader and Ross Perot seem to validate his/her point. Are you saying that you believe Ralph Nader really had a good shot at winning the Presidency? There will always be SOME people who vote for someone like Nader, but MOST people believe that would be throwing away their vote.

[dajay]

Oh, I think most Obama supporters get their facts from their "rear ends" here.

That's where their brains are I suspect.

[MsDoc]

I suspect many of them were cast IN SPITE of her last name.

[Ugonna]

the poster said at least half. She already said what you're saying. She didn't say all of them. I concur with her. I remember during the primaries, many said that's why they wanted her. ":Hillary's better than Obama, at least she'll bring Bill who knows what he's doing with her".

[CARF]

AMEN to that..........

[dajay]

Really? Wow. Here is another one. You know for a fact that not all of those 18 million votes were cast for Hillary as a "specific individual".

That makes no sense at all.

[ArmyCentrist]

She doesn't have a committee? Barack was on a committee (chaired a sub-committee, too), and his Senate career was SHORT. Hil...are you even trying?!

[benndissed]

yes. but only to be prez. , or at least as close as she can get.

[macbabe]

seems she have her own "committee" staff per her demands...
"The first victims of Mrs Clinton's anticipated appointment will be those who defended Mr Obama's flanks on the campaign trail."

Interesting article if it's true...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hillary-plays-hardball-1031238.html

[who38]

I don''t do links, but if what you infer is true, Obama will be on notice.

[SurrealPumpkin]

"She doesnt' have a committee" is short hand for being Chairwoman of a committee. All senators are on several committees. Committee chair assignments are by Seniority. In Senate turn over is slow as only 1/3 of the senators face elections every two years. She's been in Senate for 1 1/3 term, not senior at all. Her seniority will improve in the session starting in January because of out going republicans and incoming freshmen.

[who38]

If this is true, why is Joe Lieberman, a FRESHMAN Independent Senator from Connectcitut Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee?

[butterworth]

Hillary invested her Senate time in gearing up for the Presidency---planning, plotting, fundraising. The people who think she's so staggeringly phenomenal, efficient, and hardworking have most likely not had her for their Senator. Charles Schumer has worked circles around Hillary. Her "stature" is derived simply from her last name.

[EarthToZoey]

Yes, her stature is derived from her last name. If you're implying that it was simply because of Bill, you're reducing her to nothing but a wife.

If you want to learn about who Hillary Clinton is as her OWN person and not some WIFE, try reading a bit about her life before entering politics:

http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=43

[who38]

that's probably why she is willing to settle for SOS. She knows that she would have a hard time being re-elected as a Senator.

[Fitzy]

Not to mention she took up residency for that purpose.

[deminmo]

Maybe it's time for a change. As long as Senator Clinton works
with and for the President-elect, not against him, and not
to promote herself above his agenda. That said, if she
disagrees with him, he should at least listen. She's been
in the White House before.

[SurrealPumpkin]

It takes more then being in the White House before. I've been in auto repair shops before, but I don't think you want me fixing your car.

[EarthToZoey]

Argh!!

Learn about Hillary Clinton before reducing her to nothing more than a political wife, ok? Please? Seriously, I'm an Obama supporter all the way, but I am so tired of reading these comments that degrade her to some one-dimensional caricature.

[who38]

I've been in auto shops too and can see Russia from my house.

[who38]

So has Laura.

[handyallen1]

i see the clinton haters are alive and well

[who38]

We prefer to think of ourselves as realists.

[dajay]

who38: Yeah. Realists on cracke.

[Stashpanache]

This was probably a done deal right after the primary ended in order for Obama to get Hillary to campaign for him. He is a first rate politician. Yes, he was the best candidate. But, first and foremost, he is a politician. He learns from mistakes and knows how to win. This looks like payback to me. I am disappointed with his choice, but everything he does is so much better than what we have had the last 8 years, it is probably going to be OK.

[Nia1999]

I was hoping he would have chosen Susan Rice as his Secretary of State. As his foreign policy advisor during the campaign, I thought she handled the media very well when it came to defending Barack's position on foreign policy issues. She young, smart, and seems to have diplomatic disposition about herself I think would bode well with our allies.

[benndissed]

new and fresh,would be great with me. i like it.

[macbabe]

still hoping he uses Fareed Zakaria talents somewhere too...

[who38]

Whatever happened to Susan? Was she known to espouse unpopular views? Did the PACs find her uncotrollable? Was she just a tool of the moment?

[BryantArms]

Clinton owes a lot of gratitude to Obama for this opportunity. Otherwise Clinton would have probably faded away into the Senate for the rest her career.

Thanks to this opportunity Hillary can remain in the national spotlight while her persona can be transformed for the better. Rather than merely being just another ambitious mean person, Hillary Clinton can show that she is someone who can really help make the world a better place for Americans.

Obama is giving everyone the impression that nice people can succeed in politics. If Clinton can help make that perception last for the long term, then she can take advantage of being a member of the 'kinder gender'. And then all women, and other people associated with kindness for that matter, can have political opportunities that have only existed in the American Dream.

[macbabe]

"Clinton owes a lot of gratitude to Obama for this opportunity"

Obama owes her too for their support in the GE, it's how politics works!
... so now they must find a way to compliment each other and not compete.

[McChimp]

"Obama owes her too for their support in the GE, it's how politics works!"

Bullcrap, Obama owes no one but US for voting him into office, that's the bottom line.

[ThoughtAboutIt]

Obama's margin was too wide to attribute any significant amount to Clinton support. I imagine there were still PUMA voters who did not care what the Clintons said and still voted for McCain.

[KickerBoard]

Amazing how people simply assume that the 18 million Democrats who voted for Hillary in the primary would somehow automatically have just become Republican in the general without her "blessing" for them to vote Obama. It's a piece of spin, people! Give ordinary Democrats the credit of their basic convictions, even if the DNC and Senate types have none. History will record that Barack Obama won the 2008 election with a mandate from the American electorate. There will be no footnote linking that mandate to Hillary's preferences.

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

I remember landing under sniper fire....

[dct1999]

...we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base...

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

what courage! omg so impressive.

[benndissed]

judging by this and previous hillary threads, it appears she will be a controversy that will not go away. this may not be healthy for barack's foreign policy agenda. i really don't care to see our 'restoration of moral' authority ,in the world, jeapardized by controversy over her petty ego.

[macbabe]

All eyes on the State Dept, might not be so bad?

[who38]

Only if we are willing to comment on what we see.

[sunny555]

Another thing that frustrates me about Hillary's plum new appointment is I am not convinced Obama really wants her for the job. Even though he is going to be the president, I'm not sure he really can appoint whoever he wants. Powerful people helped him get where he is, and he has to consider other people's opinions. For instance, the DNC, as someone else pointed out earlier in this thread. A part of me believes Obama really would like to wash his hands of her for good. There are certainly other qualified people who could fill the SOS post just as well. Maybe some of the appointment has to do with making her a part of his team, as opposed to working against him. My fear is, she is going to try to do that anyway.

[EarthToZoey]

"I believe"

No offense, but more accurately you "imagine"....

...because NONE of us know. We all have very limited information. We are outsiders looking through the filter of speculation, rumor, and innuendo.

[sunny555]

That is what blogging on political web sites is usually about, no?

[who38]

Hear, hear.

[dct1999]

Obama has masterfully handled the Clintons and their warehouse full of baggage. He knows what he's doing.

[sunny555]

Okay, thanks for the reassurance.

It's a pretty big warehouse, isn't it?

[who38]

In your dreams. However, it may have reassured some political groups who were previously anti-Obama.

[LisaJeanM]

I think he wants her. If you've ever seen her in Senate hearings on C-span, she always asks the smartest questions. How many Senators, especially senior Senators, are smarter than her?

There's a reason she beat out Dodd and Biden and Richardson handily in the primary debates. She was also better than Barack most of the time.

[macbabe]

ok I'll bite, how was she better?

[Fitzy]

They couldn't come down on her too hard.........that would have made them sexist, or maybe she would have cried.

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

"There's a reason she beat out Dodd and Biden and Richardson handily in the primary debates."

yeah it's called name recognition.

[KickerBoard]

Yes, I particularly liked that heroic Bosnia stuff - and those crucial Hillary interventions in the Northern Ireland peace process. Definitely the smartest person in the room - as evidenced by her brilliant campaign management. I'm still in awe of her magnificence. When is she being inaugurated? Oh, she's not? How did that happen, I wonder?

[smoothdogie]

Hillary is a diva. Divas trust only unto themselves. Being an effective leader in the senate takes many, many years. Hillary does not have the discipline or patience to do that. I was hoping that Hillary would settle in and work hard and eventually be able to be an effective leader but I really don't think she has what it takes. I predict she will spin out of the SOS office before the end of the first term.

[macbabe]

spin where?... to nothing? ... doubtful if she brings on her own people.

[benndissed]

wrong .she IS BRINGING IN HER OWN PEOPLE. where you been?

[who38]

I agree. I don't think that she will handle this office well. Obama may not either. Fortunately, Richardson will be waiting in Commerce.

[roshni]

She is now a diva who has burnt her bridges in the senate.

[KickerBoard]

Yawn - get over yourself, Senator Entitlement. Political Campaigns 101 now taking students.

[Fitzy]

If in fact she was offered the position, I feel justified in not being happy about it. If she was not such a controversial figure the subject would not have dominated the news media and the Internet for almost a week and half. We don't need more controversy in our government. At the risk of being redundant, I have to say, I for one don't like the DRAMA.

[sunny555]

She is drama, all right, and negative drama at that.

[Fitzy]

I agree!

[EarthToZoey]

It's kind of hard to avoid drama when the media and right-wing spin your every step into some Devious Master Plan. Even "no-drama Obama" is being pursued left and right. He can't even step into a deli to buy lunch without the media making it look like he was vying for attention. With fame comes drama, whether we like it or not.

[McChimp]

It's not Barack Obama whining about being disenchanted about being a junior Senator, and it's not Barack Obama that can't decide whether or not he wants to be Secretary of State.

The only spin being put forth is on behalf of you to make Hillary Clinton look like an angel because Barack is picking her. Let's just forget all the tricks Hillary pulled in the primaries, all is forgiven, let's just put our bind faith in Hillary and trust her!

Guess who else we've done that to: The Bush administration, how did eight years of blind trust work out? Time to hold ALL of our elected leaders accountable, that includes Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. President Obama has to prove himself, but Hillary has still to gain the trust of many of us who don't support her because of the way she has conducted herself.

[who38]

I don't think that the drama is being provided by the media or the right-wing spin. I think it being provided by the Dems to reassure the various PACs that their interests will not go unnoticed during the next four years.

[buzzygirl]

I am OK with Hillary as SOS, as long as that is who Barack Obama wanted in his cabinet. The only bone I have to pick with this article is the fact that one reason Hillary is disenchanted with the Senate is because they did not receive her as she thought she should have been.

The Clintons need to stop thinking that everything is about them. What did she want a parade?

Having said that, I hope that she and the rest of the cabinet members will leave their giant egos at the door as they try to help Obama fix the monumental mess that the GOP establishment has left us. We are in deep you know what, and this is no time to be thinking about personal feelings. Let's get to the business of fixing this country again.

Best wishes to Obama and his entire administration, and that includes us too, the little people. We must make our voices heard, even if it means taking on Obama when we think we need to be heard.

We are in deep doo-doo, folks, no time for divisions. We can have disagreements, but it is high time we dig deep to help fix our country.

[McChimp]

I agree, but based on the way Hillary ran HER campaign, she should NOT be given a free pass and deserves harsh criticism. If she can't take the heat, maybe she needs to get out of the kitchen, her own words.

[EarthToZoey]

You seem to be stuck on the KITCHEN comment.

[dct1999]

She should have left the kitchen before she decided to throw that sink.

[Tom Payned]

She did however, suck it up and really did campaign for him from the convention on. It takes a big loyal person to set aside all of the disappointment, hurt, and even humiliation by showing your face in public after a long campaign.

While Hillary wouldn't have been my first choice, in large part because of Bill, keeping her on your side, out of the senate where she could undermine you, and keeping her out of the country, provides a certain level or protection.

As a bonus, she works at the pleasure of the President, so should she act in a manner detrimental to the Presidents' policy, she's gone.

[sunny555]

Buzzy -- you, and so many others, say the same thing: The Clintons think everything is about them. That, and Hillary seems to think she is owed something for her 18 million votes.

Since so many of us feel this way, and we are the electorate, there must be truth to it.

[EarthToZoey]

Then by that rationale, the smears that the right-wingers cough up about Obama may have "truth" to them no matter how ridiculous?