All Posts Tagged With: "Hillary Clinton"

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An intriguing bit of news about the soon-to-be vacated junior Senator’s seat…

Another Senator Kennedy?  The crazy speculation about Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat may not be so crazy after all.  A Democrat who would know tells ABC News that New York governor David Paterson has talked to Caroline Kennedy about taking the seat, which was once held by her uncle, Robert F. Kennedy.  It’s not exactly shocking that Paterson would reach out to one of the most highly respected public figures in New York, but this is:  Sources say Kennedy is considering it, and has not ruled out coming to Washington to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

President-elect Obama describing his approach to his administration during this morning’s press conference:

“I assembled this team because I’m a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that’s how the best decisions are made…

“I’m going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House. But understand: I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions made. So as Harry Truman said, the buck will stop with me.”

TPM’s Greg Sargent adds his observations about this morning’s event:

First, it was striking how comfortable Obama appeared in a take-charge role when on a stage dominated by heavy hitters like Robert Gates and Hillary Clinton — and how visibly they deferred to him.

Also, it wasn’t until Obama himself announced the appointment of Hillary as Secretary of State that it became clear just how well it reflects on him. The sight of him hailing her strength, toughness and suitability to the huge challenges ahead — even as he brushed off reporter chatter about the acrimonious Dem primary — made for powerful political theater.

We’ve heard a lot of analysis about how Obama’s “team of rivals” approach shows his mature willingness to extend a forgiving hand to rivals and his confidence that he can control them within his own orbit. But I’d argue this isn’t so much about his interpersonal style as it is about the sense he is trying to project that he possesses a gravity and sense of seriousness appropriate to the enormity of the tasks before him.

In announcing his nominees for his national security team, including Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State and Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense, Obama made this declaration:

And so, in this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning — a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges. We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships. We will show the world once more that America is relentless in defense of our people, steady in advancing our interests, and committed to the ideals that shine as a beacon to the world: democracy and justice; opportunity and unyielding hope - because American values are America’s greatest export to the world.

To succeed, we must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy; our intelligence and law enforcement; our economy and the power of our moral example. The team that we have assembled here today is uniquely suited to do just that.

Robert Kaplan writes:

In the spring of 1977, Menachem Begin was elected prime minister of Israel and surprised everyone by choosing as his foreign minister not someone from his own Likud Party, but a star of the opposing Labor Party, Moshe Dayan. It proved a brilliant choice, as Dayan helped direct the peace process with Egypt that culminated with the Camp David accords.

In the fall of 1968, Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States, and rather than choose as his secretary of state someone from among his own supporters, he chose Henry Kissinger, a supporter of Nixon’s arch-rival, Nelson Rockefeller. Again, that proved a fortuitous choice, as Kissinger helped orchestrate a rapprochement with China, as well as accords in the Middle East and with the Soviet Union.

President-elect Barack Obama has now done something similar, picking a rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, to be his secretary of state, rather than someone from among his own supporters. It could also end up a fortuitous choice. Clinton may not be as steeped in foreign policy expertise as a Dayan or a Kissinger, but neither is she a neophyte. Moreover, she will build a strong team at State from among her own supporters, notably former United Nations Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.

But the real reason that Obama and Clinton might enjoy success is something that goes barely mentioned in the media. Obama and Clinton are buying into a bottomed-out market vis-à-vis America’s position in the world. It is as if they will be buying stock after the market has crashed, and just at the point when a number of factors are already set in motion for a recovery. For President George W. Bush did not just damage America’s position in the world, he has also, over the past two years, quietly repositioned himself as a realist in foreign policy, and that, coupled with a bold new strategy in Iraq, known as the “surge,” has poised America for a diplomatic rebound, which the next administration will get the credit for carrying out.

You can read his full column here.

I really don’t have strong feelings one way or another on Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in Obama’s administration. She’s surely capable. The cynical side of me wonders what the back story is on all of this as well as what problems might result from such a pick, especially given the animosity of Bill Clinton toward Obama. However, the president-elect seems committed to a “team of rivals” in his administration, a concept employed by President Lincoln that I heartedly agree with. (I’ll write more about this in an upcoming post.)

What’s mildly surprising is the level of growing support amongst the right-wing punditry. The Weekly Standard’s Michael Golfarb certainly seems to like the choice:

There appears to be little angst among conservatives at the prospect of Hillary Clinton joining the Obama administration as Secretary of State. The idea was warmly embraced by Henry Kissinger, who our President-elect seems to hold in high-esteem, Governor Schwarzenegger, who likely has no more sway on Obama than the proverbial guy in the neighborhood, and Jon Kyl — surely Senator McCain put in a good word today as well. The love affair that was sparked last spring between Clinton and the Obama-fearing right continues to smolder, surely a surprise to those who suspected that such an unholy alliance couldn’t last beyond the convention. Whether Clinton would accept the job, or why she would want it, is not clear, but the right would be happy enough to have her.

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Clinton would be a fine Secretary of State, and she is likely to be a nuisance to Obama whether she is inside or outside of his administration, but as our top diplomat she could reprise a role that made Powell a kingmaker in this year’s election. And perhaps she could even present the case for war with Iran to an insubordinate United Nations in the event that Obama’s personal diplomacy somehow fails to deter the mullahs from their present course.

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Something in his last sentence jumped out at me: “…perhaps she could even present the case for war with Iran…” Seriously… have we not had enough of war to satisfy our blood thirst at least for a little while? We’re not even finished with the two we’ve got going on right now, which is bankrupting us and stretching our military to the breaking point. Our economy is barely hanging on by a thread and we want to start up another conflict that will surely be more costly than the current conflicts, both in financial terms and in human lives.

If we think Iraq was a challenge, it will pale in comparison to a conflict with Iran. Let’s not make another mistake. Let’s recover from these last seven years first before we dig ourselves into any more war pits.

(* I know it’s not Friday. I just really, really wish it was, so here’s a very early edition of Friday Funnies.)

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Sent through the company email…

Subject: Please pass on this important information about a potential virus to everyone.

If you get an e-mail with “Nude Pictures of Sarah Palin” in the subject line, do not open it.  It may contain a virus.

If you get an e-mail with “Nude Photos of Hillary Clinton”, do not open it.  It might contain nude photos of Hillary Clinton.

Another gem from JibJab, this time with a special guest star… see if you can figure out who it is!

Attacks and anti-Obama hysterics aren’t confined to people on the right. There are plenty of lunatic fringe on the left who pile on as well, like Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy. Here’s a brief excerpt from her rather long diatribe:

… seeing these articles and photographs of Senator Clinton and Senator Obama together, him with his hand on her back, just makes me cringe. Frankly, it makes me almost physically ill. See, I have done a lot of work in the Domestic Violence movement. And I have seen this cycle before: the man abuses, attacks, and lashes out at the woman. The woman makes excuses for, and accepts blame from, the man for his attacks. Not unlike Senator Clinton saying now that they are friends, respect each other, and support each other. I know what respect looks and feels like - Senator Obama has shown NONE for Senator Clinton. Senator McCain has, but Obama? No. Seeing these photos of her with him now reminds me of battered women wearing sunglasses to hide the bruises, and saying, “Oh, he didn’t really mean it. It was my fault, really, I shouldn’t have made him mad. He really does love me, in his own way, really! Don’t be mad at him!” Not only did Obama make sexist remarks about Senator Clinton, INCLUDING at the fundraiser the other night, but he reaped the benefit of the sexist and misogynistic remarks made by others, the veiled death threats (talking to YOU, Keith), the threats of violence, the degradation, not on her record, or on her speeches, but because she was a woman.

Keep in mind that this is a left-wing website. The hysterics get even better in the comment section: Continued