Hillary Around the World
When I first heard of President-elect Obama's interest in having Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, I was kind of nervous and more than a bit skeptical, but now it seems to make a lot of sense.
At first, I was concerned about the loss of so many senators and congressmen at one time, but it seems even good replacements were considered in the mix. Obama, Biden, and Clinton leave good choices to the governors of their states. (But what about taking Governor Napolitano out of Arizona? Unless she really is the best person for the job, that really does seem a loss. The executive branch can only pilfer so much.)
Even after his shaky testimony to the U.N., I still miss Colin Powell, and this time around, I wanted Al Gore for State. I still do. But Hillary has the fame and the fire power to be really good at it, especially if, beyond the "call to serve," she really wants the job. It is a plum, and post the less than fluid tenure of Condi Rice, Senator Clinton could bring a lot of esteem to State and to diplomacy around the world. Send her forth.
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In an aside, I am still concerned that, even after his strategic resusitation of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean may be shut out of the Obama administration. Dean's still my second-favorite politician these days, and surely, as with Rahm Emanuel, there's a place for the rambunctious Dean to do good. Too bad he can't take Hillary's seat in the Senate.
posted by Lawrence @ 3:17 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Thus far Obama's selections for his Cabinet are horrendous. Awful.
He has left out the liberal end of the Democratic Party..a sell out after the anti-war faction got him the nomination.
His economic team is comprised of the same folks who got us in this mess. His foreign policy team never opposed the war when it counted. And keeping Gates around is just silly.
They are hohum centrists...when a radical departure from the norm is needed. Hell, the National Review loves the choices. That should be your first clue that the real Obama has been bedazzled by power.
With this crew, he will just have to clean out the whole Cabinet within two years...around abouts the time the DOW hits 4000 and unemployment hits 15%.
Cheers!
Allan, I appreciate your skepticism, but let's give peace/Obama a chance.
He has to win over much of the country (including a lot of the middle) first and then move toward a more progressive agenda -- thus avoiding the early stunts that caused Bill Clinton to lose so much ground in his first few years in office. I think Obama, a student of presidential history (and a pragmatist), is steering clear of major mistakes and, for now, major risks, and that is not a bad thing.
Lawrence..
Well somebody has to give you a critique from your Left! Bet you don't have that happen very often!
The next couple of years will be a whole lot of fun to watch(if you have a job). And I eagerly look forward to Obama's presidency. Time will tell... if Obama surprises us, you have the right to say: "I told you so!"
By the way, Clinton was a pragmatist in the early days too. That's why he never considered a Single Payer Healthcare system. Instead he kowtowed to Corporate interests. Sound familiar?
Cheers!
Allan
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