Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
It came as no suprise yesterday, when President-elect, Barack Obama announced Senator HIllary Clinton as his nominee for Secretary of State. The nomination had been rumored for several days and the President-elect didn’t disappoint. Since the first days of his campaign, Obama has been talking about change, the change he wants to bring to America and the change he wants to bring to two wars we are now engaged in. His first major successes in the primaries were based on his opposition to the war in Iraq. It was this opposition that he used to draw a distinction between himself and Hillary Clinton. In a move that is surely calculated, he has brought his biggest rival onboard, not as Vice President, as a lot of Clinton’s supporters wanted, but as Secretary of State.
One of the headlines I have seen this morning has Rush Limbaugh praising the selection and telling how great it was for Obama, politically. He makes the case that with Clinton in the top diplomacy position in the new administration, it will prevent her from running against Obama in 2012. One of those “keep your enemies closer” situations. I am not so sure that is what Obama is up to. If his first four years has any kind of success, there will be virtually no chance of any Democrat wanting to challenge a popular incumbent President. So, political calculations aside, maybe this really is a good move for Obama and, dare I say it, for our country.
Hillary Clinton does bring a lot of experience to the table as Secretary of State. From CBS:
Past campaign differences aside, Clinton brings some obvious strengths and weaknesses to the job of the nation’s top diplomat. She’s instantly recognized all over the world and has relationships with many foreign leaders. Her focus on foreign policy and national security in the senate provides depth to a new president relatively inexperienced in world diplomacy.
Using these relationships, she may be able to help our country navigate through a minefield of diplomacy in a way that will benefit everyone. One thing she has to avoid is any appearance of working against the administration of Barack Obama. He has made it very clear that he will be setting the policy, but he has also made it very clear that Clinton will have complete access to him. Again, from CBS:
But, as the wife of a former president with wide-ranging world interests and relationships of his own (all reportedly thoroughly vetted by the Obama team), Mrs. Clinton will have to make sure to present a united front with Mr. Obama from the get-go to avoid perceptions that she is operating outside of the new administration.
Now, from the International Herald Tribune:
By this past Thursday, when Obama reassured Clinton that she would have direct access to him and could select her own staff as secretary of state, the wooing was complete.
“She feels like she’s been treated very well in the way she’s been asked,” said a close associate of Clinton, who like others interviewed asked for anonymity because the nomination will not be formally announced until after Thanksgiving.
Few are predicting that this new relationship born of mutual respect and self-interest will grow into a tight bond between the new president and the woman who will be the public face of his foreign policy around the world, though some say it is not impossible. They argue that a close friendship between those in those powerful roles is useful but not essential, and is not a predictor of the success of the nation’s chief diplomat.
I would give Mrs. Clinton a word of advice or caution. Take a look at the tenure of Colin Powell as Secretary of State. He went into the job as one of the most respected men in the country or the world. He was faced with the impossible task of selling the invasion of Iraq, based on false information given to him by Vice President Dick Cheney and company and I believe his resignation was in large part, due to the fact that he was misled.
Hillary Clinton is a very strong willed individual, but if she can manage to work her way through the potential conflicts of interest, she may just be a good Secretary of State. I am not sure how much we can trust her, but as with Barack Obama, I am willing to give her the chance to prove herself. Like it or not, Obama won the election and he has the right to nominate his own cabinet. Let’s stand back and see how it goes. Who knows, we may all be suprised at the results.
That’s my take!
Larry
