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Friday, November 14, 2008

Are you ready for Hillary as Secretary of State?

So the buzz today is that Obama is thinking of offering Hillary Clinton the position as Secretary of State. I wonder if she has to fill out the seven-page questionnaire that other cabinet appointees are required to fill out. Wouldn't we all like to see how she answered these questions?
“Please provide any other information, including information about other members of your family, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the president-elect.”

The answer could duplicate the response to Question 8: “Briefly describe the most controversial matters you have been involved with during the course of your career.”
Seriously, what experience does she really have in formulating foreign policy? Are we going to count First Lady visits to tour schools and talk to spouses? What about the derision that she demonstrated for Obama's lack of experience? And what would be Bill's role while she's jetting around the world trying to bring peace to all the hot spots?

Maybe this is a case of following LBJ's advice of which side of the tent he wanted opponents to be on.

If it comes to a choice of whom you'd prefer to see on your televisions giving press conferences, I guess Hillary is less objectionable than John Kerry. Is there anyone who wants to see him making speeches for the next four years?

8 comments:

JILLIAN BANDES said...

Eh. I don't like either of them, but its clear that the hatred from the campaign has clearly passed.

Robert said...

It's still not clear to me why she would want the job. It doesn't look like a promotion from here.

Bachbone said...

Jillian, have you heard the saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"? That may be what Obama has in mind for St. Hillary. He and Rahm could keep wary eyes on her at State. If she strays, he could fire her. If she actually promotes the leftist foreign policy Obama's past suggests he will follow, and if it fails as miserably as such policy has failed before, who will get the primary blame, Obama or Hillary? It seems to me that Obama dealt with Hillary's tactics masterfully during the campaign, and has been more adept at deflecting blame and throwing people 'under the bus' than was Hillary during her co-presidency years.

Robert has a good point. Will St. Hillary be snookered if she takes the position?

toadold said...

Well as one Democrat said as Sec. State she gets to fly around, get's more TV air time than a Senator will. "How many post office openings in New York can she go to?"
Also if she doesn't get too deeply involved in some Obama foreign policy debacle she might be in a position to move on Obama during the 2012.
I for one look forward to the travels of Broom Stick 1.

Pat Patterson said...

The person I was waiting to see if he accepted a post in the Obama administration was Dennis Ross. Just a few days ago he supposedly was set to speak with some of the Obama people about a post similar to his previously held one of Special Envoy to the Mideast. But his support for the Iraq invasion and involvement with a new think tank in Israel sponsored by the Jewish Agency appears to have made him persona non grata among a couple of constituencies that may have some say on appointments.

But I doubt if Sen. Clinton is seriously in the running though having her in the chain of command would probably be better than any senate committee chairmanship. It does appear that there is sort of slow motion coup d'etat going on between those who got elected and those who still believe that the wrong guy got elected.

Besides doesn't Gov. Richardson look like a Secretary of State and without the baggage of anything happening on his former watch that could make him look inept.

bluespapa said...

I'm so exhausted by the ineptitude of the last eight years, I think a triple thick McDonald's shake would be an improvement.

Powell would have been outstanding at a lot of things, but Bush managed to find a position to take least advantage of his skills and intelligence.

Condoleeza Rice seems to have a singular skill, which is to not be blamed for her own glaring, overwhelming, and incontrovertible incompetence.

Yes, I think HRC masters details without losing sight of the big picture, and is able to learn from her own and others' mistakes.

Matthew Avitabile said...

I don't think he'll choose Hillary. Probably Kerry.

my thoughts
http://jumpinginpools.blogspot.com/2008/11/who-will-be-next-secretary-of-state.html

nice site, btw
would you be interested in a reciprocal linl?

Consul-At-Arms said...

Sen. Clinton definitely had a disastrous start as First Lady during Pres. Clinton's first term in office. The health care reform fiasco, the White House Travel Office scandel, this list went on.

But what I don't think you can credibly claim is that Sen. Clinton isn't a fast learner. She's a sitting, second-term U.S. senator who's been getting her foreign policy chops on Capitol Hill. I would be hesitant to count her as a foreign policy lightweight at this stage in her life.

I've quoted you and linked to you here: http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/2008/11/re-are-you-ready-for-hillary-as.html