Sitting less than ten feet from Hillary Clinton at an RFK Memorial event in New York this week, I was overwhelmed by the presence and power the woman carries with her wherever she goes. Charming and poised as she was inundated by admirers, I could not help but think how hard it was, in some sense, to vote for Obama over Senator Clinton. I was momentarily overcome thinking how I wish both of them could have won.
Like many, I believed that Obama had the better chance to beat McCain. That turned out to be a good bet. Now the notion of Mrs. Clinton as Secretary of State looms over her every utterance and move and I pray that this becomes a reality.
Statesmanship had been the most important tool in a president's toolbox until Cheney and Rumsfeld moved into the West Wing. During Bush's administration, the Department of Defense, war and war profiteering eclipsed any real hope for diplomatic solutions. Perhaps Mrs. Clinton will right the ship and make it once again possible that America's diplomatic voice is clear and convincing, backed up by power of America's military only on a truly as-needed basis.
The president can not go to every corner of the world that requires his attention. Who better to send than the one American who can represent him and all of America with an equivalent intellect, dedication and dynamism. I hope she says yes.
And I hope Chuck Hagel is Defense Secretary. A Vietnam vet. A Republican who understands the world isn't one ongoing bar fight. A man we can all respect and who won't sell us out so that KBR and Carlyle Group investors get rich.