Obama's Team of Rivals
If Barack Obama asks Hillary Clinton to become Secretary of State, it would be a brilliantly audacious political move. Choosing Clinton would elate her fans, soothing any lingering bruised feelings, and bring some major star power to the State Department. Clinton would possess real clout and, like Obama, serve as a kind of ambassador to the world. It would also show that Obama, like Abraham Lincoln, who, as the historian Doris Kearns Goodwin showed in her book "Team of Rivals," is unafraid of tapping powerful cabinet members.
But would it be good for American foreign policy? Would it be consistent with the kind of change Obama promised on the campaign trail? Clinton's record is markedly different than Obama's. She supported the Iraq War. In 2006, she supported legalizing the torture of an individual who knows about an "imminent threat" to millions of American, but backpedaled on the idea in September 2007. In April 2008, she said the U.S. could "totally obliterate" Iran if it threatened Israel with nuclear weapons. In essence, she decided to run as a foreign policy hawk for president, figuring that she couldn't run the risk of appearing "soft" on foreign policy. Clinton represents, or has represented, what I would call the Lieberman wing of the party -- Democratic neocons based at places like the Progressive Policy Institute and the Democratic Leadership Council. They don't believe the Iraq War was itself a mistake, but that it was simply conducted ineptly by the Bush administration.
Already there are splits in the Obama camp between those who believe that the United States needs to push for democracy and human rights abroad (Russia or China) and those who think that Obama should focus on limiting America's commitments abroad. Choosing Clinton would be a big victory for the first camp.
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There should be a key spot for Hillary Clinton in President-Elect Obama's administra
Hillary is a very key personality in US internal politics, but she is not an international personality. To start with, she does not speak a foreign language such as Spanish, French, German, Italian, etc. Her perspective, in my opinion, is much too hawkish along the lines of Bush II.
The strongest and best candidate, in my opinion, is Governor Bill Richardson, who speaks Spanish and has practically native speaker fluency. He is Latino and well-known in the Latino community, which played a key role in helping Senator Obama get elected. Also, Richardson has dealt personally with foreign leaders such as Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein.
In addition, Latin America continues to be neglected and the US has to send out a signal that Latin America is not being taken for granted. Leftist movements in Latin America have grown stronger. Moderate leftist governments like Lula in Brazil and Bechelet in Chile are good for the region. Hardline leftists like Chavez in Venezuela, Correa of Ecuador, and Morales of Bolivia raise question marks.
Mexico went through its own internal scare with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in its 2006 elections. Electing Lopez Obrador in Mexico would have been an absolute disaster for Mexico and its northern neighbor, the US.
Appointing Gov. Richardson as Secretary of State is good for both the US latino population and Latin America taken as a whole.
I like the move. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The one field that she actually has extensive experience, meeting heads of state. Aside from which, if she goes off the reservation he can simple fire her. Sets her up nicely for 2016 as well. Not to mention that must leg work for state dept. is done by underlings. Shrewd move I think.
hillary looks great but in 2016 she will be 69 years of age.
69 isn't as old as it use to be. I have no problem with a 69 year Hillary as POTUS.
Nothing simple about firing a cabinet appointee with a name and a political following. She would have to screw up really badly, and even then, he still owns her mistakes.
She has warranted a spot, but I am not sure this is the right fit.
Everyone will be watching Obama on foreign policy ready to pounce on any signal of percieved weakness. Selecting Hillary moves him to the center tough crowd and will allow him to make necessary changes ... Ie. closing gitmo , moving troops out of Iraq etc. ....withou
Considering what we have all learned about the President-elect over the course of the last couple of years and with Biden at his side, there will be no signals of perceived weakness on foreign policy or national security. You can go ahead and bet the farm on that...eve
Clinton would be a great Secretary of State. She has a world view of civility - as compared to the warrior world view of the past eight years. ..........
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Whatever one thinks of the idea, Doris Kearns Goodwin has got to be loving all of this right now. I bet her book is getting a new fresh read by a lot of people. If this is indeed true, then Obama is one tough customer and has a lot of self confidence.
Or...he's Rodney King. "Can't we all just get along?"
I've failed to see any difference between Hillary's world view and that of George W. Bush. I'm one of her consituents, and I'm horribly embarrassed by her.
What about Kerry?
What about him?
Kermit the frog would be a more effective Sec. Of State.
Kerry is worthless.
LOL.
What about Governor Bill Richardson for Secretary of State and Hillary as Attorney General? Hispanics did their part helping to elect Barack and they need to see someone like themselves in a high position in the administration, that would bold well for Obama in 2012. Hillary was a brilliant lawyer, she has a great mind for winning, she is strong, and being the hawk that we all know she is now, that makes for a great attorney general. I think she would be as good as Robert Kennedy was with JFK during the events that he as a new President was faced with. I think Hillary would be the perfect person to work on the trials of the detainees, and getting Gitmo closed and kind of cleaning up some of that mess, while helping Obama get out of Iraq, etc. That was one issue with Hillary that gave Obama the edge so if she helped to deal with the mess, it would bold better for her on that issue of voting to go to war, without all the information necessary to make a good decision, like Obama did.
There are a number of roles that Senator Clinton could play, if she felt so inclined, in an Obama administration. Consider, for example, that she has done so much to move the debate on healthcare in the right direction that a position in this area - even at the cabinet level - would seem to be a perfect fit for her.
I'm sure there will be some position offered to her and she will have an important decision to make as to whether to remain in the Senate or not. Frankly, I don't understand why she would want to leave the Senate, particularly given that many high profile senators are no longer there and she could be a powerful force to be reckoned with.
...continu
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As for heading up the state department, it would seem to me that the appointments already made by the President-elect should be a guide as to how he will proceed. The selection of Joe Biden demonstrates that Barack Obama is directing a meritocracy and will fill high level positions with the most qualified people. It would also be reasonable to expect that the next Secretary of State will, at the very least, be in the same league as the Vice President-elect in terms of their foreign policy and national security credentials.
In this light, I would consider Dick Lugar and Richard Holbrooke as the two top contenders for Secretary of State. While the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee may not interested, I think Senator Lugar should be asked. In any event, both of these men would undoubtedly have Biden's vote of confidence.
Richard Holbrooke.
I just don't like the "LBJ" side of Hilary...a
Halsey,
For many reasons - too long and complicated for a Huffington Post post! - it is safe to say that Governor Richardson would be LAST person tapped for SoS. But, simply put, a choice like that would go against the precedents already set for the meritocracy that is the Obama administration of selecting the best candidate for the job. Bill Richardson may have many good qualities but he is not the best candidate to head up the state department. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
As I see it, you're going to have to have a Secretary of State who is at least in the same league vis-s-vis foreign policy and national security as the VP-elect. If you ask me, Governor Richardson's views on Iraq alone are enough to disqualify him from any consideration for Secretary of State. And, on a very personal note, I was not impressed by his absolute pandering and obvious lack of understanding Re. Iraq throughout the primaries. I just can't get past that fact.
I see your point, we need someone who is cool with a poker face like Obama. Someone who has been there and knows people, who is respected, but can be tough as nails, while able to understand the need for consensus building. Senator Lugar is a good guy, he is knowledgable, classy and effective. He and Obama get along, know each other well and work together well. I would say that would be a good pick. Obama wants to keep McCain and Lieberman close, that is smart, however, I would be less likely to put them in chair positions probably than he would. I also like Edwards for Secretary of Health and Human Resources or something like that because of his lifelong dedication to poor people's issues.
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