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Monday, 17 November 2008
Hillary Clinton would be a great choice for Secretary of State
I hope the reports here, here, here, here, here and here are correct. Hillary Clinton would be an excellent choice given her experience and relationships she and Bill have with world leaders. I hope she is in fact the Secretary of State. A meeting between her and Lawrence Canon would be great to see. It was also great to see Obama have a face to face meeting with John McCain today. I am also excited about rumours that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may also get a position in cabinet.
-Darryl
Secretary of state job Clinton
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
November 14, 2008 at 10:46 PM EST
Almost a year ago, Barack Obama was asked in a debate how he could rely on so many Bill Clinton-era advisers while still providing a break from the past, prompting his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to burst out laughing.
Turning to face her, Mr. Obama deadpanned: “I'm looking forward to you advising me too, Hillary.”
Now president-elect, Mr. Obama it seems was not joking.
The pair took a secret meeting in
CNN quoted Democratic sources as saying Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton had a serious discussion about the secretary of state job and that she left the meeting with the impression that it was hers if she wanted it. The Huffington Post blog went further, saying Ms. Clinton was offered the job and requested time to consider it.
But Mr. Obama also interviewed New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for the position yesterday, media reports said.
Mr. Obama has also begun staffing his White House, transition team and economic panel with former
After a two-year battle in which each politician was accused of disrespecting the other, it appears that the Obama-Clinton rift is being repaired, one job opening at a time.
His transition chief, John Podesta, was Bill Clinton's chief of staff during the last two years of his administration. Mr. Obama's own newly hired White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was a senior
In fact, 31 of the 47 people named to Mr. Obama's transition team or staff have ties to the
“He's definitely playing on good advice and past expertise and the most recent Democratic administration,” said Melissa Haussman, an associate professor of political science at
Ironically, Dr. Haussman believes the new president learned that lesson from Mr. Clinton, whose own early White House staff was composed of some loyalists unprepared for the task at hand.
“They've got people with a whole lot of experience dealing with Congress, and that's something the Clinton White House was a little short on,” she said of the emerging Obama team.
While Mr. Obama's staff is drawing so heavily on administration insiders of the 1990s that Politico.com joked he is putting “the
Passed over for the vice-presidential slot, the primary runner-up campaigned for Mr. Obama during the general election and is regarded as a natural source of advice, expertise and political capital for Mr. Obama.
Already, she has been approached by Mr. Obama's wife, Michelle, for advice about raising kids in the White House. And now it seems Mr. Obama might be hoping she will help him contend with foreign policy as secretary of state.
But she is already being touted as a smart choice for the position, with an established international reputation that would help heal the country's damaged relationships abroad.
But what's in it for her?
Taking a position in cabinet means Ms. Clinton would lose her Senate seat and influence in domestic policy.
The past two secretaries of state, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, have been lightning rods for criticism, a situation Ms. Clinton may not be willing to endure again.
“Let's face it, as first lady and presidential candidate she was open to a lot of barbs and spears,” Dr. Haussman said. “It's a multiplicity of considerations, thinking about where her talents lie and how much does she want to put herself in a high-profile position again.”
