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How Obama Wooed Hillary
But Kerry is currently in line to chair the powerful foreign relations committee in the Senate. If he were to be made Secretary of State, the committee would fall to Russ Feingold, the senator for Wisconsin, whose vote against the Patriot Act placed him among the most liberal senators.
“Feingold is as liberal on foreign policy as Obama said he was during the primary. Now Obama is president elect he has become more hawkish,” said the source. Feingold is thought not reliable enough an ally to the president when it comes to acting tough with Iran, or in managing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The talks with Mrs. Clinton echo similar discussions Obama has been having with Robert Gates, the Defense Secretary, whom the president elect would like to remain at his post to provide continuity and show he is non-partisan, particularly over the running of the Iraq War. However, Gates is insisting upon keeping his existing staff; Obama would prefer him to take on some of his appointees.
While the source stressed that there was no negotiation going on—“You serve the president on his terms; you cannot demand terms”—the fact that Mrs. Clinton was prepared to fly to Chicago to discuss her role with the president elect shows that she is taking seriously the prospect of joining the administration. But she is receiving conflicting advice about whether accepting a post would be to her political advantage.
“You have to ask yourself, what would she do next?” said the source. Mrs. Clinton would be obliged to abandon her New York Senate seat, which offers her the perfect springboard to make another run at the presidency down the line. If she remained in the Senate, she would be one of the Democratic party’s most prominent and powerful leaders who would ensure the successful passage of Obama’s legislation program, particularly her old cause of universal health care.
As Secretary of State, however, she would serve at the president’s whim and after a period of time might end up without a job having given up her firm political base in Congress and in her powerful adopted home state of New York. The role of Secretary of State could be redefined when circumstances changed, leaving Mrs. Clinton conspicuously powerless, as George W.Bush marginalized Colin Powell.
Mrs. Clinton must assess whether she is yet prepared to give up her presidential hopes. By accepting the State Department she would profoundly disappoint millions of supporters, many of them women, who remained loyal to her right to the end of her long primary battle with Obama.
“I would tell her not to do it,” said a close Clinton ally. “Never, ever, count the Clintons out. Never assume that they will quietly drift away into the sunset.”
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Memo to unnamed source: Nixon's Secretary of State was William P. Rogers, so it's not true that no one remembers him. But point taken.
An additional thought to the fact that Kissinger overshadowed Rogers. It is really difficult to imagine that there is any national security personality who as NSC advisor would be able to oveshadow Sen. Clinton as Secretary of State. That simply isn't going to happen, because there isn't anybody of Kissinger's caliber who would take that job today.
Moreover, the unamed source is really not thinking clearly on the topic of Sen. Clinton's future. She serves one term at State and then turns it over to someone else. If the new Obama/Clinton/Biden and whomever else team manages to improve the U.S. foreign policy situation -- which is more than possible with these people working together -- Sen. Clinton will find herself in one of the most advantageous positions imaginable to pursue the presidency if she wants to in 2016 -- and she won't need her seat in the Senate to do it. To think otherwise is just the same narrow-minded, Washington politics as usual myopia that Obama is striving to extinguish. The positives here far outweigh the negatives for both Obama and Clinton. And if people don't realize or believe that, then they really don't yet understand Obama and his vision for the future of our government. Assuming the few negatives can be mitigated -- and they can -- this is an inspired, thinking outside of the box choice. Bravo to both of them.
Rahm...
as in bomb, ticking time...
as in only a matter of.
With guys like this having your back, Barack, we need for you to get some side cover... quick.
Axelrod & Gibbs are gonna need all the help they can get.
Too much Arkansas so far, bud. Too much Arkansas.
Nonetheless, Godspeed, sir... Godspeed.
In no way would Clinton's acceptance of the Sec'y of State post require her to give up her presidential hopes. On the contrary, it would keep her in the national limelight and make her perfectly poised to run in 2016, when she'll turn 69, with eight years of
major foreign policy experience under her belt and three years younger than John McCain was when he ran this year.
Rham is already starting to piss me off. He's got a colorful personality and is well known for getting stuff done, but he needs to stick to the Obama motto: NO DRAMA!
I think that it would be a wise decision for Clinton to accept the post of Secretary of State. It would give her plenty of opportunities to display her wise and powerful qualities. However, as for running for president, I think she should just abandon that idea. I think the American public is tired of these political family dynasties (besides the Kennedy's). Why would we want to go from Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, to Clinton again? I think that was a big factor in why Clinton didn't clinch the Democratic nomination. Clinton would be wise to accept the post and it would only result in her being more respected throughout the country and world. Pick respect over ambition!
I just find this whole thing so odd. There has rarely been a political story in recent times that I could not get my head around, but I just don't get this at all. Perhaps we need to be discussing just what are the qualifications for someone to be Secretary of State. My guess would be that Clinton would really not be qualified, and I don't see any political gain for anyone on any side of such an appointment. Clinton is in an excellent position in the Senate, and would be a huge asset to Obama there. And why is no-one considering Clinton as Attorney General?
I think this is a win/win for Obama and Clinton. If he offered it to her, she'd be remiss in not taking the position. There's far more national/international visibility at state than in the senate.
Hillary Clinton should do it. She'd do an absolutely fantastic job, and she'd still be in a position to run again in eight years if she so chose. She is an absolutely extraordinarily gifted and intelligent politician. Why be one of 100 when you can be Secretary of State? Go, Hillary, go!
I think that anything Hillary Clinton does will be good for our new President and right for our country. She could serve as the Secy of State for a period of time (and having Bill at her side on the world stage, it couldn't be better) and then find herself nominated and confirmed for Supreme Court, which would be brilliant!
They must, and will, find the best ways to use this woman's talent and it seems clear to me that President-Elect Obama is doing what he said, looking for the best and the brightest, whoever they are.
Oh, and by the way, get over the "leaks" thing, EVERYTHING IS ORCHASTRATED and we might as well recongnize it and deal with it. It's just another way to fill the airwaves while they sell us the products that the advertisers buy time for.
Yes, respect over ambition. How refreshing that would be. As for the Presidency, staying in the Senate would be of no help to Hillary. Obama is an anomaly, the only Senator to win a Presidential election since JFK. For Hillary to get another shot, she needs a stint in a Governor's chair. Between then & now some foreign policy leadership could be very helpful.
There's a hint here that Kissinger is a positive memory--the great Machiavel himself who some, less than fondly, remember as a possible war criminal. Whatever one remembers, a post that attaches the word "caliber" to Kissinger is worrisome.
Clinton is qualified for many jobs and perhaps Sec of State is not the one being discussed--who knows? The health care issue, however you view it, is as enormous as any other issue on the table. If you ask a polled respondent to name priorities they are put into a box of listing "jobs" "economy" "war" etc. What you touch is the surface skin of the body populous. Go underneath to the muscles and heart and health care is a deeper, connected concern to many of issues listed. Fear of losing one's job is intrinsically tied to fear of losing one's health care (which unfortunately too often has people tied to jobs they hate.) The economy? Well, our large businesses are losing place in global competitiveness in some part due to their huge health care costs. Forget the small businesses, just ask the guy with the dump truck who is self employed what it costs him for private health insurance--never mind taxes and the fact that he has NO unemployment benefit access. He's too angry at the government right now to actually vote his self interest or even think straight--and by the way, I don't blame "him." If the Democrats give him some relief with at least the health care portion--his brain will clear.
Don't trust the polls. It's the health care issue, stupid.The pill-pushing, research funding-to-find-more-pills-to-push, pharmaceutical companies--the for profit hospitals--the self employed--the Cobra payments--the assembly line Dr.'s office--the ruination of families that have health insurance when the 20% patient portion is 200 grand--and on ad nauseum. It ripples into everything and the uninsured are only a small piece. Somehow, in someway, Clinton deserves a position of power that enables her to finish what she started--leave a legacy that alters everything. I have no idea what title this job is--but it's not Secretary of State. If it doesn't exist, make it up. This has got to get fixed.
Thank you.
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