Obama's First Drama: Hillary Clinton

[CrimsonWhite]

Save the drama for yo mama.

I was agnostic on the matter of Hillary Clinton's possible appointment as secretary of state--until last night.

If Barack Obama, the president-elect, wanted to pull a Team of Rivals play, that had seemed fine to me. And placing Clinton in Foggy Bottom would remove her from the dicey business of passing health care reform. Would it unite the party? Well, judging from the election results, the party is pretty darn united already. Despite the griping of a few Hillaryites at the Democratic convention, her voters certainly swung behind Obama in the general election (see Pennsylvania), after HRC and WJC campaigned for BHO in the fall. Unless an explicit deal was made between Obama and Hillary Clinton, it did not seem that Obama, after bypassing her for veep, had to appoint her anything for the party's sake. Still, if Obama and his savvy band of advisers thought that handing her one of the best jobs in the Cabinet would generate political benefits they could use to advance their agenda, I, as a non-fan of Hillary Clinton, was willing to say, okay--for what that was worth.

But then this happened: the presidential transition of no-drama Obama became infected by the never-ending soap opera of the Clintons. And it really is time to turn that program off. There are plenty of policy and political reasons for a progressive not to fancy Hillary. She served on the Wal-Mart board when the mega-firm was fighting unions; she screwed up health care reform for almost a generation; she voted wrong on the Iraq war and then refused to acknowledge she had erred. But, worst of all, as the cliché goes, with the Clintons, it always does seem to be about the Clintons.

MotherJones Blog: Obama's First Drama: Hillary Clinton

 

[Silence]

That ain't no shit! I HATE that Obama even offered her the position. The Clintons are like freakin magnets for drama. Not to mention she has a completely different stance on diplomacy.

 

[glockmail]

... she has a completely different stance on diplomacy.

What would that be?

 

[CrimsonWhite]

That ain't no shit! I HATE that Obama even offered her the position. The Clintons are like freakin magnets for drama. Not to mention she has a completely different stance on diplomacy.

It wouldn't be a smart choice. It would keep her out of matters domestic, but it would lead to infighting between the West Wing and Foggy Bottom. Obama would merely be handing Foggy Bottom to the Clintons.

 

[Jon]

I think the issue is being blown out of proportion, personally. Hillary is a great pick for Secretary of State. When anyone questioned Obama's past relations, they were pushed aside. Now he wants to make a big deal out of Bill's?

 

[CrimsonWhite]

I think the issue is being blown out of proportion, personally. Hillary is a great pick for Secretary of State. When anyone questioned Obama's past relations, they were pushed aside. Now he wants to make a big deal out of Bill's?

How in the hell do you figure that?

 

[Silence]

What would that be?

that diplomacy has no place when talking to our enemies. She called Obama naive to think he could negotitate with our enemies during the primaries.

 

[Silence]

I think the issue is being blown out of proportion, personally. Hillary is a great pick for Secretary of State. When anyone questioned Obama's past relations, they were pushed aside. Now he wants to make a big deal out of Bill's?

I don't see where Obama is making a big deal out of Bill's past dealings except insomuch as to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest between his wife dealing with heads of state and him (Bill) taking their money for his organization. and everyone has said what happened in the past won't be an issue as long as in the future there is no appearance of conflict which is why Bill has bent over backwards to clear the way for Hillary to do SOS.

Personally I hope she turns it down. I hate the idea of her being SOS and think there are much better choices, such as Richardson from NM.

 

[glockmail]

that diplomacy has no place when talking to our enemies. She called Obama naive to think he could negotitate with our enemies during the primaries.

Good point. Now she's going to have to meet with these people without preconditions. Maybe one of those preconditions is that the diplomatic envoy would be kept safe. Imagine- Hillary taken hostage! Maybe that's Obama's plan all along!

 

[CrimsonWhite]

Good point. Now she's going to have to meet with these people without preconditions. Maybe one of those preconditions is that the diplomatic envoy would be kept safe. Imagine- Hillary taken hostage! Maybe that's Obama's plan all along!

She can handle it. After all, she has already been shot at.

 

[glockmail]

She can handle it. After all, she has already been shot at.

Hillary as Osama's 32nd wife.

 

[CrimsonWhite]

The Chicago Tribune has an interesting take on this.

Building a Cabinet

Two of the most important jobs in any administration are secretary of state and attorney general—the officials charged with overseeing our foreign relations and our system of justice. The ideal candidate for either job would have a combination of outstanding experience, knowledge, intelligence and judgment. When it comes to the Justice Department, President-elect Barack Obama apparently has found someone who meets that standard. But the State Department may be a different story.

There, the president-elect is reported to be giving serious thought to naming Hillary Clinton. Her appeal is obvious. Clinton is smart and hard-working. Her appointment would gratify the millions of Democrats who voted for her in the primaries, demonstrate Obama's preference for a centrist foreign policy and enlist the many talents of both his former rival and her husband.

But she has some significant shortcomings as well. Despite all the foreign travels she undertook while living in the White House, she has only modest experience in international issues. As Tribune reporters Mike Dorning and Christi Parsons noted in a March 7 story, "While Hillary Clinton represented the U.S. on the world stage at important moments while she was first lady, there is scant evidence that she played a pivotal role in major foreign policy decisions or in managing global crises." During her time in the Senate, she hasn't served on the Foreign Relations Committee.

It's an open question whether Clinton is ready to put aside her own views and priorities and become the loyal team player an effective secretary of state has to be. And while it might be nice to have Bill Clinton's talents on call, his personal flaws—temper, indiscipline, ego—could cancel them out.

Building a Cabinet -- chicagotribune.com

 

[catzmeow]

Just compare Hilary with Madeline Albright to get a sense of how out of her league she would be as Sec State. Obama's pick for AG was good, though. He was a good DAG.

 

[CrimsonWhite]

Just compare Hilary with Madeline Albright to get a sense of how out of her league she would be as Sec State. Obama's pick for AG was good, though. He was a good DAG.

Obama would be better off leaving Rice in place. In an adminstrtion that would untie her hands she would be brilliant. Thats what Albright thinks anyway.

 

[user_name_guest]

I hope the White House doesn't become a destination for Hollywood gossip type news.

 

[Ravi]

Obama would be better off leaving Rice in place. In an adminstrtion that would untie her hands she would be brilliant. Thats what Albright thinks anyway.

That's interesting. I think Condi was over her head as NSA but I think she's done a pretty good job as SoS.

As for Hillary, I don't especially like this move for her. I would prefer to see her stay in the Senate, even though I think she can do this job well. IMO, Hillary has always been grounded by Bill (and not in a good way).

 

[del]

What would that be?

wide.

 

[glockmail]

That ain't no shit! I HATE that Obama even offered her the position. The Clintons are like freakin magnets for drama. Not to mention she has a completely different stance on diplomacy.

You should ask yourself why he did it. My guess is that she has some dirt on him, like a Kenyan birth certificate or something.

 

[DiveCon]

You should ask yourself why he did it. My guess is that she has some dirt on him, like a Kenyan birth certificate or something.

i highly doubt it

 

[bk1983]

You should ask yourself why he did it. My guess is that she has some dirt on him, like a Kenyan birth certificate or something.