Hillary: The Next Secretary of State

News Updates on reports of a potential role for Hillary Clinton in President Obama's administration as Secretary of State:

Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State? :

There were numerous reports last night that Hillary Clinton may be under consideration for Secretary of State in the Obama administration. READ MORE

Confirmed: Clinton Met With Obama About Role In New Administration:

A Democratic official confirms to the Huffington Post that Sen. Hillary Clinton met with President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday to discuss her role in the new administration. READ MORE

Related:

Huffington Post's Hillary Clinton Big News Page

Huffington Posts's Obama Cabinet Big News Page

More Updates on the possibility of Hillary Clinton being chosen as President Obama's Secretary of State

Amitai Etzioni's Original Post from February 14, 2008:


Amitai Etzioni and Hillary Clinton.

Rahm Emanuel, where are you when we need you? It is time for the elders of the Democratic Party, especially those not committed to either Clinton or Obama, to get off their duff (while staying on the fence) to figure out the best way to end the intra-Democratic contest. Even if Obama continues to garner a majority of the delegates, Clinton will be left with a substantial number of delegates committed to her. Such situations tend to lead to prolonged and bitter conflicts. As the Republicans are unifying around their candidate, it is time to float ideas to end the Democratic contest.

If Hillary does somehow manage to marshal a solid majority, without such a tricky and unsavory maneuver as relying on the disqualified delegates of Florida and Michigan, she can offer Obama the vice presidency. He is young enough (and would benefit from even more seasoning) to be able to plan to run another day on his own. In contrast, given that she is much closer to the end of her political career, and that this job is often largely ceremonial, it is hard to imagine that Hillary would agree to serve as Obama's VP.

Instead, Hillary would make a fine secretary of state -- a very important and powerful job. Moreover, making a clear commitment to choose her for this position would add much to Obama's appeal, given that his experience in foreign policy is particularly short. (The main difficulty is how to make such a commitment in a way that it cannot be revoked. Since Obama would hardly be inclined to start his term by violating a commitment he made on national TV and during the nominating convention, such a commitment could be taken as an almost sure thing.)

Most important, it is best for the Democrats, and ultimately for the country as a whole, that the intra-Democratic contest not be dragged-out and further embitter whole segments of the voters. The time is now for floating ideas about the best ways to end the contest so that when the time is ripe, the candidate with the highest number of delegates can find ways -- which have been previously aired -- to unify the party and to focus for on the real showdown.

Amitai Etzioni is the founder and director of the Communitarian Network and author of The New Golden Rule: Community and Morality in a Democratic Society (Basic Books, 1996).

Comments

[WilliePilgrim]

HRC as Sect'y of State and Bill as UN Ambassador...in some ways this highlights something that's been going on for some time. Here in the US we still see our president as some kind of imperial leader where in fact, now that we've been shown to be as mistaken and corruptible (thanks W) as any tinpot dictatorship, the world stage is where things happen, the Sect'y of State and Ambassador to the UN are more important roles, reflecting our evermore globalized culture and economy.
Obama will become america's first "mayor", makin sur the inner city gets enough police and that farmers get good loans, but the true leadership will follow the power to engage, something the Clinton's do exceptionally well. In some ways we can thank Al Gore for his bringing attention to the waning desirablity of the position of president. Yeah...let George do it.

[wayoutleft]

in other words, all the old losers want in. you think hillary zbig, holbrooke, et al. represent change? not likely- but zbig gets the new foreign relations ethos barack embraces.

[JimR]

I think she'd be a TERRIBLE choice for Secretary of State. Other posters here have offered much better ideas.

I'd find it hard to believe she'd agree to work under Obama anyway.

And if she doesn't get the nomination, why can't she remain a Senator for many years to come?

[jginnane]

It's ironic that an Obamist would certify Mrs. Clinton as competent to handle such a critical post, when the same could not be said in reverse.

What sort of Cabinet position would Mr. Obama be qualified for? "Secretary of Commerce" is about it (-- I won't qualify HUD).

[JimR]

I think Hillary Clinton is an extremely intelligent and capable person. But like all of us, she has her strengths and weaknesses. Diplomacy is most certainly NOT one of her strong suits. For example, no matter what you may think of him, saying the Russian president has no soul doesn't exactly set the tone for good relations.

But if all you want to do is talk trash, knock yourself out!

[Macready]

"If Hillary does somehow manage to marshal a solid majority, without such a tricky and unsavory maneuver as relying on the disqualified delegates of Florida and Michigan, she can offer Obama the vice presidency. He is young enough (and would benefit from even more seasoning) to be able to plan to run another day on his own."

Totally disagree Obama will win the Democratic primary but hypothetically it would be political suicide to be VP to both clintons . . . we saw how bill treated Al . . this would be much much worse . . .

hillary would not make a good secretary of state . . . she would be a softer version of gorgonzola . . . she voted for the illegal invasion of Iraq war, she supported kyl/lieberman, she is so far in bed with the AIPAC that it is nauseating . . . hillary isn't about change . . .she is status quo our next president is going to have to make changes in US foreign policy particularly in the Middle East and hillary is not the person to do this . . .

[JGatsby]

I agree that Ms. Clinton (BTW why is it that all the other candidates are called by their last names but only Ms. Clinton gets called "Hillary") would not make a great secretary of state. I can't see her wanting that role anyway. If Obama wins (which I hope he does) Clinton will have a big role as one of the, maybe the most influential leaders in what hopefully will be a congress with a strong democratic majority.

And what do you mean "the way Bill treated Al"? I know there are rumors about some bad blood between Gore and the Clintons but if you look back at his presidency I think Clinton gave Gore one of the most influential roles of any VP in recent memory. Excluding Cheney of course who is really the one who makes the executive decisions. BTW (sorry for the tangent but I can't resist) did you know that the CIA's nick name for Cheney is Edgar? That's for Edgar Bergen, probably the best known ventriloquist in American entertainment. We all know who the dummy is. (Ron Suskind The One Percent Solution)

[lovethesinner]

This post is really disturbing on so many levels. Please bear with me, I'm not actually wearing my tin-foil hat at the moment, but I spend a lot of time at Wayne Madsen Report, and I have friends who've been studying the neo-cons for years.

My worst case scenarion:

This entire election is a set-up. The plan was to give the neo-cons a third term under a new flag (neo-liberals) and Hillary is the Captain of the ship.

She was selected by the Builderberg conference in 2005, because it was obvious that a Republican could never get elected.

http://www.oldthinkernews.com/Articles/oldthinker%20news/hillary_clinton.htm

So, now that Hillary may actually fall, it's on to plan "B" which is "get her in there somewhere."

Please check out these three movies, and decide for yourself, but if Hillary and Bill, or Richard Holbrooke, or any of those CFR, PNAC, AIPAC...

GHOSTS...

... are left standing after innauguration day, MOVE.

(further study on this topic)

Endgame: Blueprint for global enslavement

http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/endgame.php

America: From freedom to fascism

http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/america_freedom_to_fascism.php

Zeitgeist

http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/zeitgeist.php

[lovethesinner]

This post is unbelievably offensive.

ENOUGH WITH AIPAC! You guys don't need to control everything in American foreign policy. We are not your personal police department. Just the last few days, the Mossad kills another "terrorist" and in so doing, becomes the very thing it detests.

Gandhi said it best: "An eye for an eye only leaves the whole world blind." But, an even better saying is so old it can't even be traced. It has lasted all these years because it's truth is beyond the limits of time:

WE BECOME OUR ENEMIES.

No! No more Council on Foreign Relations ghosts like Hillary and Bill's Richard Holbrooke. No more stale ideas like sanctions, refusing to talk, and unilateral invasions. Israel can take care of itself, or, it should learn how to get along with it's neighbors. It's time to kick the spoiled child out on his own and let him learn how to make his way in life.

America will always be Israel's ally. But, it's time to stop using the middle-east as an army base.

Please, ENOUGH. America can do better than this. Yes, we can.

Obama in '08

[lovethesinner]

Hillary as Secretary of State? You've got to be kidding.

After all her bungling on the patriot act, AUMF, Kyle-Lieberman, you want to put the future of the Foreign Office in Hillary's hands?

Hillary is the anti-diplomat! (she's the complete opposite of Obama's foreign policy objectives. She's running against his platform right now.)

Here's a much better cabinet:

Joe Biden: Sec. of State

Zbignew Bryezinsky: Nation Security Adviser

Colin Powell: Sec. of Defense

John Edwards: Attorney General

Put Hillary in a Health and Human services, (maybe) but for God's sake, keep Richard Holbrook, Bill Clinton, and the rest of that Council on Foreign Relations neo-con cabal away from the Foreign Office.

Someone was asked on Hardball to sum up Hillary's candidacy in one word. The word she chose was:

Stale.

I know you mean well, Amitai, but STALE is the last thing we need at the State Dept.

GObama!

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

I like Biden, Zbig, and Hillary, but:

POWELL !?! I am a FORMER huge fan, but PLEASE! UN Speech? Hello?
Webb (former Navy Sec): DefSec

Dodd: AG

Edwards: Sec Labor

GORE: Energy Sec

Cleland: Sec Vets Affairs

There are plenty of other slots to fill, namely: Treasury, (Who can straighten out THIS mess?)
Interior, (RFK Junior)
Agriculture,
Commerce,
Education, (Diane Ravitch)
HUD,
Transp,
and...
Homeland Security (Bill Richardson)

Last, you didn't mention VP, so allow me:
A good VP sidekick for Obama would be...
Webb.
In which case, Wes Clark for DefSec.

Obama 2012
Hillary 2008
(joke. whichever gets it is in for a rough term.)

[cynara]

Okay, Here's my take:

Richardson: Sec. of State
Webb: Sec. of Defense
Edwards: Attorney General
GORE: Energy Sec

I think your last point is a good one:
"Last, you didn't mention VP, so allow me:
A good VP sidekick for Obama would be...
Webb.
In which case, Wes Clark for DefSec."

Or how about Dodd for VP?

[Macready]

except for colin powell . . . I like your line up lovethesinner . . .totally agree hillary does not fit in with Obama's message and neither does bill

[cambio]

I'd rather not have a Secretary of State who is so critical of the United Nations and so against cooperating on human rights and arms control. She gets way too much money from the arms industry for my liking, and it shows in her votes.

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4803

[Ides]

Better choices for Secretary of State: Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Al Gore.

[Macready]

they definitely are much better choices than hillary . . . she would be awful . . . in fact I don't understand how any sane person would consider her for sec of state or any other position in the cabinet . . .

[johnnygoodwud]

sec. of state, dude you must be kidding. if you think that about appointing sinbad, and cheryl crow, who were with hillary on her very dangerous trip to bosnia. HA. i think obama could do much better, like richardson perhaps. by the time this is done, i doubt hillary and obama will be buddies.

[proudcalib]

Why Hillary for Secretary of State? She has no more foreign policy experience than Obama, except possibly through osmosis by living in the White House for eight years.

Why not someone genuinely qualified like Joe Biden or Bill Richardson?

[SURRYMARK]

H. Clinton for secretary of state? Are you crazy? Why not Joe Lieberman? If Obama were to choose a former candidate for that job, he couldn't do better than Bill Richardson. And John Edwards probably would be a fine attorney general. But Hillary Clinton for secretary of state? The politician who endorses the Bush/Israeli policy of not talking to any adversaries unless they cave in first? Not a good idea, Amitai.

[jcharliemiller]

Barack Obama would never accept the Vice Presidency... his wife has made that clear, and more importantly, in this century no democratic except one has ever gotten the nomination twice.
Besides, doesn't he have more experience then Bill Clinton did when he came into office?
Hillary should retire soon. It'd make her a hero to the party, amd secure her something if she wanted it, and also raise her standing in congress when he's president.
Obama's VP should be someone like Jim Webb. Then he'll tear off some southern states.

[cynara]

You know, I chose Obama over Clinton based on the fact that I don't like her hawkish foreign policy. Last thing I'd want would for her to be in charge of foreign policy in a Obama administration...

[3fingerbrown]

Good tight post. But I'll quibble with the thought that Obama lacks foreign policy experience. Of course he does. But so did most presidents. In fact, I can't think of the last Democratic president who had extensive foreign policy experience before taking office. Clinton, Carter, Johnson, Kennedy, Truman, Roosevelt, Wilson. All were creatures of domestic politics.