Reconciliation without Truth
Implausible as it sounds, this is the best explanation anyone has given of the offer of the position of secretary of state to Hillary Clinton. Lincoln took William Seward at State, and Seward was a rival indeed, but he had fought for Lincoln with ferocious loyalty and all his eloquence throughout the campaign, and he put his considerable vote-getting power at Lincoln's disposal. What can be said for Hillary Clinton? She fought against Obama until the last possible moment, and on the way exploited, for the purpose of discrediting him, most of the devices the Republicans would later tap in the general election. She said Obama had not shown himself fit to be commander-in-chief. She pretended not to know for sure whether or not he was a Muslim.
Team of Rivals is a pleasant work of popular history, only harmful to the extent that you weave fantasies around it. Anyone who cares about Obama's fortunes after his first large public mistake (for even to offer Clinton the position was a mistake) should close his copy of Goodwin and open the actual words of Hillary Clinton on Iraq, and the things Barack Obama said about those words.
It may seem an incidental detail but none of the people in Lincoln's cabinet had a husband who was a former president with a pronounced need to be at the center of the national stage at all times. Why not repeat the truth? Barack Obama's election was a real breakthrough, without precedent--something he did by himself with the help of a million workers who were not working for Hillary Clinton. When the reading is done and the analogies played out, we should also admit that no two situations in history are much alike.
The wars President Bush has involved this country in, awful as they are, don't in any way resemble the Civil War: not in magnitude, not in necessity, and not in the domestic threats that can be supposed to attend them.
Is Obama's misstep part of a larger pattern? Signs going as far back as July, and as near as yesterday, from persons "close to Barack Obama" ranging from Patrick Leahy to Cass Sunstein, have suggested there ought to be no serious investigation of crimes around domestic surveillance and torture. What of the hundreds of Bush appointees sown throughout the departments and the agencies? These people's ideas of right and wrong will come in part from what the new administration shows itself to care about and what it prefers to disregard. Indifference in this setting is not magnanimity.
Tuesday the Democrats voted to allow Joe Lieberman to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee. Lieberman did his worst to tear down Barack Obama in 2008 by questioning his love of his country and his fitness to lead a secure government. Compare Lieberman and Clinton now with another person who has been mentioned for secretary of state, Chuck Hagel. Hagel accompanied Obama on his foreign tour even as Lieberman accompanied McCain. That we are not now at war with Iran may also be owed in part to a courageous letter that Hagel wrote to Admiral Fallon last October, on the recklessness of American saber rattling--this, when Clinton and Lieberman were voting the AIPAC line and saying, with docility, that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was a terrorist organization. They hoped if there was a war it would be over by the election.
Any president needs around him people of courage, judgment, and competence who share his fundamental views. If Hillary Clinton all along fit that description for Obama, why did he not tell us so? A party in control must in some respects resemble any other institution that hopes to maintain itself. Reward those who sap and undermine, and you likewise discourage those who are loyal. People will practice the bad arts that they see are profitable. And who that voted in 2008 was looking to have a government of reconciliation without truth?
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The philosophy guiding Obama's foreign policy is already well-articulated. It was one of the reasons for which we voted for him and will be the measure by which we will hold him and his Administration accountable. The vessel is not as important as the objective.
It's nice to see that same narrowmindedness on the part of the most fanatical, blinkered Obama supporters so on view during the primaries is alive and well. (Not.) Last time I checked, President-Elect Obama and Senator Clinton belong to the same political party, have many similar views on many issues, and very much seemed on the same page throughout the general election. Yes, they differed on the war. Everybody understands that.
I heard a caller to a radio show begin by saying "I didn't work so hard to get Obama elected so he could make Hillary Secretary of State!" Really?!? You regret Obama being elected because of who he might pick for Secretary of State? There's some serious commitment! And since when did the media so obsess over a Presidential transition and potential White House Staff and Cabinet appointments?!!
Not too long ago, the Obamabots were telling Hillary supporters to get over it -- she lost. I'd say they need to get over it -- Barack Obama won... and he actually has to govern, selecting who he thinks will complement his administration and bring the "change" he promised. How about giving him a chance to get inaugurated before you turn on your chosen candidate and start up the anti-Clinton vitriol and venom all over again!?!
The term "Obamabot" is offensive. Hillary worked hard to help BO get elected as well. I am an Obama supporter; but I was not ever and am not now against HRC. We ALL need to remember that WE DEMOCRATS won and we need to come together or risk snatching defeat from victory.
Let BO pick his cabinet. If you respect his leadership, then you need to trust his judgment. He knows what he is doing and why.
"Let BO pick his cabinet. If you respect his leadership, then you need to trust his judgment. He knows what he is doing and why."
So, are you saying that we shouldn't stay involved unless we agree with him? Isn't that the antithesis of the Team of Rivals concept?
I would like to see some of Obama's supporters in influential Cabinet positions? Richardson is getting short shrift and Hagel may not be recognized at all. What does this say?
Hillary Clinton fought Obama on the campaign trail becuase she thought she'd be a better President. Obama has deomstrated ability to forgive and move on. As a result he'll have a strong cabinet and staff. People who have to hate the Clintons have issues.
NYT has just announce Hillary's acceptance of an offer by Obama.
Obviously it's deeper than what we know. no one knows what their relationship is. something must have clicked with them. I HATE her, wouldn't give a dime to her but if he feels she can do the job...hey.
But unlike the media and a few here, i think if she messes up on purpose he's going to crush her. (one of the reasons I breathe easily about his choice). ;)
The deal was made at the convention.
DO you really think she gave up the fight for nothing?
you wish. She would not have won NY again had she stood in his way, that was made evident when her homies told her they were going to endorse him.
I think Chelsea Clinton should replaced her mom as a junior senator from NY, while her mom, present senator becomes secretary of state in her (Chelsea) preparation for public service!
You're kidding, right?
And there is the little matter of the Constitution and Senators having to be 35 years old.
IF it benefits the Clintons, they can always fix that little snafu. Dont you know they rule the world??
Actually it is 30 for the Senate
This country is full of people who still need to be convinced of the wrongheadedness of the Iraq war, I'm the only member of a family of six who' s known this from the start.
Maybe Obama's decisions to "hire" people who were previously pro-war can help coax some of those leftover neocons who think WMD is still in Iraq, just well hidden.
Reversing one's stance on the horrible Iraq war is not easy, hopefully Obama can get the vast majority of people on board as he presides over the war's imminent demise.
I think she's a great choice. I was an Obama supporter, and I was angry with her during the last part of the primary but I think she's the best person for this job.
Go USA!!
I'm with you RedWilma. She's brilliant, a team player, and if she hadn't convinced Obama of that, she would never have received the "jewel in the crown" as Chris Matthews calls it. He is gathering strong, experienced people around him that will tell him what they think. That shows strength on his part--to even reach out to McCain after all the nasty things he said about him. I think he will hit the ground running, as he has to. Let's wish him luck; we need it.
hillary as secy of state is wrought with risk for both her and obama. she would have to tow his line and will be out of the country alot doing our nation's business, she loses her independent voice in the senate. he risks a media magnet who can undercut his plans. but she can gain valuable experience for a run in 2016, they can magnify state's effectiveness with her (and bill's) intelligence, connections and will power. that's alot of force for good if it can be harnessed. let's give them a chance and trust to hillary, bill and barack to work together and, if not, to barack's team to make a change.
This isn't about "running" in 2012 or 2016 or any other year. Hillary is the least of our problems. This guy is hiring the entire war team from Clinton's last term. Kenya embassy bombing, first bombing of European c apital since WWII, Northern Alliance assassination, aspirin factory bombing, supplying Muslim extremist terrorists in Chechnya and Balkans, Cole bombing, supplying Taliban in Afghanistan, Intifada, destruction of Oslo accords...
Hillary is the front man who doesn't have a clue what she's doing so the rest of them can determine the outcome and it won't be pretty. Not what we voted for at all. I gave money to Obama and voted for him because I thought he was against this approach and would bring a clean slate into office for the benefit of all Americans.
You are correct . I fear we may get "lite" change. Same tune with catchier lyrics....
I trust Obama to make the best informed decisions. He is the right person to lead our country at this time. I believe Hillary is qualified and will work side by side with Obama to restore our image with the rest of the world and aid in peacekeeping efforts. Having said this, I do have some concerns:
Part of being SoS is managing a huge bureaucracy. I worry about that aspect of the job because of the way Hillary's campaign was run. Hillary left major decisions to others and let infighting and incompetence bring the campaign down. She hired people she trusted and who had been loyal from the past, not necessarily those with the best judgment.
Hillary's steadfast loyalty to Bill over the years is commendable. However it concerns me that a former President will have regular influence over his wife's positions in her job. The past is filled with favors and IOUs with leaders around the globe. Even if Bill agreed to limit travel and speeches, his relationships with world leaders will affect decision-making. Will we have two Presidents directing foreign policy? Is it even possible to understand the full consequences of this situation - good or bad?
For all of the negativity associated with the Clintons, the majority of that is Bill's. Hillary brings much that is positive. The President-elect remembers those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, for one. What a gracious overture to his formidable former opponent. Present her as the voice of our country to the rest of the world. She will be given the opportunity to repair our image and to finish the job her husband did not by re-igniting the Middle East peace process and finally helping Israel and Palestine to co-exist in peace and prosperity. She has been a vocal defender of women and children and will be accepting a position in which she is answerable to the President who, thankfully, is Barack Obama. If she is interested in running for president again, what better portfolio to bring than eight brilliant years as Secretary of State?
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton would serve at the pleasure of the President.
What better place to have her?
Rather than undermining Obama in a clash of egos as Clinton tries to make her mark in the Senate, as SOS she will be on his side and under his direction. It's a brilliant move that brings both Clintons to work for him rather than against him.
You people, really. You live in a fantasy world.
Shadow or substance, optics or actions. As you sow, so will you reap. Better to have your enemies in the tent, than pissing on you outside. The problems for Obama are the real world, with delegation of authority, rather than truth per se. He is a lawyer, infinitely capable of twisting language, but of course, the rest of us need to see the architecture of change making a differnence as he has spelled it out since January. Make the rich pay, improve health, education, and jobs for the middle class, build infra-structure, incentivize green technology and employment, end the wars, cooperate with the world for peace and sustainable economy.
So the best thing to do is to copy W and appoint only those who have passed the Obama loyalty test? A cabinet full of toadies and yes-men? I think we voted Obama in because of his intelligence and his pledge to re-unite the country, not to have yet another divisive administration. I don't think that the change we need is simply to have "us" grasping for total power instead of "them". Have a little faith in his leadership abilities. His style is to listen to as many opposing voices as possible and then to make an informed decision. That's his strength. Let him govern to his strengths. Personally I think he's more than capable of handling the Clintons. If I didn't think he was I wouldn't have voted for him.
I don't understand why you suddenly doubt him. That, IMHO, is worse than anything the Clintons or McCain ever said or did. For Pet'e sake at least wait till he takes the oath of office to start grumbling, second-guessing and backstabbing. He can do this.
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