Apparently the Obama team is underwhelmed by their current crop of candidates for Secretary of State. Those candidates are New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (who was once Secretary of Energy, U.S. Ambassador to the the UN, and an diplomatic envoy to North Korea, Iraq and Cuba), Senator John Kerry, and diplomat Richard Holbrooke (who was also a former US Ambassador to the UN and an Assistant Secretary of State involved in the Dayton Accords). All three would be capable Secretaries of State, but I think they all lack something. Maybe it is star power, I dunno. I am similarily underwhelmed, for no specific reason whatsoever.
So this little rumor about Hillary Clinton flying out to Chicago yesterday amid reports that she is now under consideration for Secretary of State is very interesting on several levels. First, Hillary Clinton is tough. The Secretary of State travels the world negotiating with and staring down friends and foes alike. I imagine Hillary would be quite good at that.
Second, I do believe that Vice President Joe Biden has the chance to drown out any advice from a lesser Secretary of State, like a Holbrooke, Richardson or Kerry. Clinton is an equal to Biden in many ways, if not superior.
Third, the selection of Hillary will lend to the “team of rivals” narrative that the press loves, but most importantly…
Fourth, Hillary Clinton is indeed a rival to Obama. There was also talk yesterday that the Clinton Machine will wait one year and then beat the press drums about Obama’s failed Presidency. If you get Hillary to be invested in the Obama Administration, then you remove that threat.
Yes, I like the idea of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. And Hillary should too. She has outgrown her Senate seat, but in reality it is all she has left. She really can’t run for Governor of New York (David Patterson is running for reelection in 2010) and she will probably be too old to run for President in 2016 (she will be 68 then), so being a Secretary of State will probably be the crowning achievement of her career. Plus, she can’t get away from Bill.