So Hillary, how do you fancy being the next Secretary of State?

[Francois Cellier]

From the Independent

So Hillary, how do you fancy being the next Secretary of State?

Clinton is tipped for top job in Obama's new administration

By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Saturday, 15 November 2008


When President Barack Obama gets his first 3am call at the White House, it may well be Hillary Clinton briefing him on his first foreign crisis.

The former first lady has emerged as a favourite to become the Secretary of State after the President-elect sounded her out in Chicago on Thursday. "There was a serious discussion to determine whether, if offered secretary of state, she would accept it," a source described as "close to the Obama transition team" said yesterday.

Appointing Mrs Clinton the position "has been of great interest to Obama for a while," the source said.

The rancour of the former rivals' duel for the Democratic nomination has receded and the widespread expectation that Mrs Clinton will be asked to handle foreign policy reflects the sheer scale of the problems facing the new administration. From her years as first lady, when she visited 83 countries, Mrs Clinton became an expert in foreign policy. She is on first-name terms with many world leaders and is respected by America's allies.

One potential problem could be that her friend from the Senate, Vice President-elect Joe Biden was preparing himself to play an overarching role in foreign policy in the next administration.

Mrs Clinton is said to have eased her public position of being uninterested in a cabinet position but was keeping her cards close to her chest. "I'm not going to speculate or address anything about the President-elect's incoming administration," she said.

One of Mrs Clinton's most effective attacks during the primary season was the "3am phone call" that drew attention to Mr Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. "Something is happening in the world," the gravelly voice of the narrator said. "It's 3am, your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"

Mr Obama has said that climate change, terrorism and pandemic disease cannot be addressed through traditional methods and has called for a redefinition of America's foreign policy priorities. He appears to be turning to stalwarts of the Clinton administration as he picks his team.

One of Mrs Clinton's closest allies is Madeleine Albright, the woman who served as Secretary of State to President Bill Clinton and who has already been appointed by Mr Obama to be his point-person at this weekend's G20 meeting on the global financial crisis.

During the election campaign Mr Obama was asked what books besides the Bible he would consider essential reading as president. He named a biography of Abraham Lincoln, called Team of Rivals. "[It] talks about Lincoln's capacity to bring opponents of his and people who have run against him in his cabinet. And he was confident enough to be willing to have these dissenting voices ... It's a remarkable study in leadership," said Mr Obama.

Some of the President-elect's transition advisers pushed hard for Mrs Clinton to be Secretary of State, saying it, "would create the ultimate 'Team of Rivals' cabinet."

As Mr Obama assembles a new cabinet at record speed, it is clear that his top priority will be dealing with the economy, rather than foreign entanglements. It is feared that one more shock to the US financial system – the bankruptcy of the car giant General Motors, for example – could flip a recession into a full blown depression.

Dealing with peace talks in the Middle East, war in Iraq and Afghanistan and nuclear weapons crises with Iran and North Korea could easily distract from domestic priorities.

After his overwhelming electoral triumph, Mr Obama does not need to repay any favours to the Clintons. He has always been wary of having to deal with Mr Clinton in the background and the Clintons' extensive foreign business dealings could run foul of the new administration's high standards of transparency for appointees.

Other names being floated for the Secretary of State position – expected to be announced next week – include the former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry, who ran against George Bush in 2004, and the Democratic governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, as well as the Republican senator Chuck Hagel.

[Francois Cellier]

I have silently hoped for this to happen. Hopefully it is true. Hillary could do a lot of good as Secretary of State. You need a strong personality in this position, and Hillary has already gained the respect in much of the world that a Secretary of State needs.

Furthermore, it would unite the Democrats more and show respect to those voters who would have preferred to see Hillary as President.

Finally, it would show signs of greatness in Obama. U.S. Presidents often like to compare themselves to Lincoln ... and one thing that characterized his Presidency was that he made it a point to successfully draw his competitors into his cabinet.

[Black Lance]

I can understand Obama wanting to give Hillary a spot in his administration, but is secretary of state really the best choice? Foreign affairs really isn't Clinton's strong suit in terms of experience.

[Neko]

Originally Posted by Francois Cellier

I have silently hoped for this to happen. Hopefully it is true. Hillary could do a lot of good as Secretary of State. You need a strong personality in this position, and Hillary has already gained the respect in much of the world that a Secretary of State needs.

Are you sure you don't mean revulsion? I know that as a foreigner I can't look at her bitter, puffy little face without shuddering. Okay, so that's anecdotal, but I still didn't think the old Harpy was particularly well-loved abroad.

As for building consensus, yeah I suppose so.

[Francois Cellier]

Love and respect are not the same thing. A Secretary of State should be able to stand on his or her own two feet (react promptly to unexpected situations), and also should be able to shut up and listen. I know that she can do the former. I hope she is capable of doing the latter as well.

Madeleine Albright was a disaster, because she thought it was her job to lecture the rest of the world. Colin Powell was pretty good in this respect. I haven't formed an opinion on Condoleeza Rice yet.

[suedanim]

Regardless of Biden's strengths, Clinton's attacks during the primaries (which Obama handled very well) or her qualifications for the job, its best to remember that Obama is the President-elect, her boss and recent past SOS's have not had an abundance of experience in foreign policy or diplomacy either. I think her past prepares her well and she'll represent the US well. Plus she will not be in a stand alone position. She'll take her directives from the POTUS.

[Neko]

Originally Posted by Francois Cellier

Madeleine Albright was a disaster, because she thought it was her job to lecture the rest of the world. Colin Powell was pretty good in this respect. I haven't formed an opinion on Condoleeza Rice yet.

I think Condoleeza got a hell of a lot of respect, largely because she was scary as fuck and most foreign leaders just sat there crossing themselves and reciting hail maries until she was gone (or at least safely on the other side of some running water).

I don't think Hilary'd get that. She doesn't come across as being all that clever, frankly.

[The Mouth of Sauron]

Give Sarah Palin the job.

Even a cretin like her would be an improvement on current US foreign policy, because if she didn't know where any countries were, she couldn't do them any damage.

[clownboy]

I'd feel better about having Richardson in the spot. He's got the bona fides and the temperment for it. Let Hillary be the "Health Czar" or something like that.

[Dufrel]

This may unite the Democratic Party but it is going to piss off the right and a lot of indpendents (and even some moderate Dems).

My wife and her parents are lifelong Democrats and none of the can stand Hillary Clinton. Seems like something that will really hurt him come reelection.

[Zan de Man]

Originally Posted by clownboy

I'd feel better about having Richardson in the spot. He's got the bona fides and the temperment for it. Let Hillary be the "Health Czar" or something like that.

Yes. Because healthcare isn't important.

[Francois Cellier]

From the New York Times

Many Dealings of Bill Clinton Under Review

By DON VAN NATTA Jr. and JO BECKER
Published: November 17, 2008


Over the weekend, former President Bill Clinton enthusiastically endorsed the prospect that his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, might join the Obama administration as secretary of state. “If he decided to ask her and they did it together,” the former president said, “I think she’ll be really great as a secretary of state.”

Mr. Clinton delivered those remarks at an international economic symposium in Kuwait City sponsored by the National Bank of Kuwait, which said the former president would “share with a select audience his perspective on the issues likely to shape the future prospects of the region.”

It is precisely that kind of paid speech, which Mr. Clinton delivered 54 times last year for a total of $10.1 million in fees, that has complicated the vetting process that Mrs. Clinton is undergoing by the Obama transition team. “Whatever happens or doesn’t happen is between Obama and her,” Mr. Clinton said.

That may be, but Mr. Clinton’s postpresidential life as a globe-trotting philanthropist, business consultant and speech-giver poses the highest hurdle for Mrs. Clinton to overcome if President-elect Barack Obama chooses to nominate her as secretary of state, according to aides of the Clintons and Mr. Obama.

The Obama transition team is focused on the wide array of Mr. Clinton’s postpresidential activities, some details of which have not been made public. This list includes the identity of most of the donors to his foundation, the source of some of his speaking fees — he has earned as much as $425,000 for a one-hour speech — and his work for the billionaire investor Ronald W. Burkle.

The vetting of Mr. Clinton’s myriad philanthropic and business dealings is “complicated, and it may be the complications that are causing hesitation on both sides,” said Abner J. Mikva, one of Mr. Obama’s closest supporters and a White House counsel during the Clinton administration. “There would have to be full disclosure as to who all were contributors to his library and foundation. I think they’d have to be made public.”

While aides to the president-elect declined Monday to discuss what sort of requirements would make it possible for Mrs. Clinton to serve as secretary of state, they said Mr. Obama would not formally offer her the job unless he was satisfied that there would be no conflicts posed by Mr. Clinton’s activities abroad.

Associates of the Clintons said that Mr. Clinton was likely to have to make significant concessions and that he was inclined to do so. Among other things, they said, he would probably have to agree not to take money for speeches from foreign businesses that have a stake in the actions of the American government. Another obvious issue, Democratic lawyers said, would be whether Mr. Clinton’s foundation should accept money from foreign governments, businesses or individuals for the foundation’s philanthropic activities and if it should disclose those donors publicly.

“The problem is it’s going to require some sacrifice by him,” said a former Clinton aide who is not involved in the discussions but did not want to be identified because the talks are confidential. “If he’s not willing to do that, it could blow up.”

One proposal, floated by Mr. Mikva and several other aides involved in the vetting process, would be for Mr. Clinton to separate himself from the activities of his foundation, including raising money.

“It’s not just what he does or says — it’s the fact that the foundation is involved with foreign countries, some of which might well be in conflict with U.S. policy,” Mr. Mikva said. “It’s more than a legal problem — there are ethical problems and appearance problems.”

Several longtime associates of the Clintons said the former president would be an asset to Mrs. Clinton if she were appointed secretary of state. The Obama administration “would be able to use Bill Clinton as the ultimate special envoy inside the tent,” one longtime associate said.

Since the former president established the William J. Clinton Foundation in 1998, it has raised more than $500 million, a sum that allowed him to build his steel-and-glass presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., and create the Clinton Global Initiative, which has done good deeds all over the world, including working to eradicate AIDS in Africa. Much of that money has been raised from foreign sources.

Mr. Clinton is not required by law to identify the donors to his foundation, and this year he declined to name them. Last year, while Mrs. Clinton was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, The New York Times compiled the first detailed list of 97 donors who gave or pledged a total of $69 million for the Clinton presidential library in the final years of his administration. The examination found that while some $1 million contributors were longtime Clinton friends, others were seeking policy changes from the administration. Two people pledged $1 million each while they or their companies were under investigation by the Clinton Justice Department.

The foundation has received contributions from the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar.

In a statement, the foundation said at the time, “Donors did not seek, nor did President Clinton give, favors from the federal government,” adding that most of the contributions were made after Mr. Clinton left office. A spokesman for the foundation, Matt McKenna, declined to comment on Monday.

During Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, the Clintons agreed to sell $11 million to $26 million worth of stock and pledged to liquidate holdings that had been in a blind trust. She said then that they wanted to avoid conflicts of interest.

In September, at his annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting, Mr. Clinton hosted more than two dozen foreign leaders, including Queen Rania of Jordan, President Shimon Peres of Israel and President Álvaro Colom of Guatemala.

Mr. Obama met Thursday in Chicago with Mrs. Clinton. Shortly after that, the process of looking into Mr. Clinton’s activities began, slowed in part because Mr. Clinton did not return to the United States until early Monday.

Several Democrats close to the Clintons said the former president’s activities should not be a disqualifier because the couple had been more open about their finances than past veterans of the White House, thanks to Senate disclosure requirements.

“They are arguably the most transparent former first couple in history,” said one Democratic official, who declined to be identified because the talks are confidential. “For eight years, they’ve been doing this.”

Lanny J. Davis, a longtime Clinton friend who said he was not speaking on the couple’s behalf, said he “completely rejects 100 percent” any suggestion that there was a conflict between Mr. Clinton’s work raising money for his foundation and the work Mrs. Clinton would be doing as the nation’s chief diplomat.

When the Clintons released their postpresidency tax returns in April, the documents showed the couple had earned $109 million after leaving the White House in January 2001. Most of it has come from book-writing and speaking fees, a sum that accounts for nearly $92 million, including a $15 million advance from Mr. Clinton’s best-selling autobiography, “My Life.”

The returns also showed that Mr. Clinton had collected at least $12.6 million since 2002 from his work as an adviser to Mr. Burkle, whose Yucaipa Companies have invested money for the Dubai government and acquired a stake in a Chinese media company.

The former president helped drum up business for several domestic and foreign investment funds in Yucaipa’s portfolio, although precisely what Mr. Clinton did is unknown.

Beyond Mr. Clinton’s work for his foundation and his foreign business dealings, there is also the unique issue of having a secretary of state whose husband is a former president. During her campaign, Mrs. Clinton said if she were elected president, she would appoint Mr. Clinton as a “roving global ambassador.”

But if Mrs. Clinton were to be nominated as secretary of state, potential conflicts could occur if Mr. Clinton continued to serve as a traveling emissary of the United States. It is unknown whether he would be asked to curtail speaking out on foreign policy matters or, if asked, if he would be willing to do so.

[Bennett]

Originally Posted by Neko

I think Condoleeza got a hell of a lot of respect, largely because she was scary as fuck and most foreign leaders just sat there crossing themselves and reciting hail maries until she was gone (or at least safely on the other side of some running water).

I don't think Hilary'd get that. She doesn't come across as being all that clever, frankly.

Hilary has suffered from being a Democratic attack dog for many years, but she is smart and a clever politician.

This choice makes it clear that Obama is mending bridges and is prepared to work with people who consider him or he formerly considered rivals. It is an approach he is going to try and define his presidency by (multi-partisan) and it will serve in his favour.

He doesn't seem to mind working with people who dislike him, he just admires their credentials and gets on with it, which is a characteristic I have never seen in American politics before!

[Neko]

Originally Posted by Bennett

Hilary has suffered from being a Democratic attack dog for many years, but she is smart and a clever politician.

People say that, but where's the evidence? She ran a shit campaign.

[Gilles de Rais]

Keep the present guy, Gates. That shows true cross party guts and the guy is deemed very good.

Give it to Clarks. Or whatever that general is named.

Do Not Give It to the Harpy!! She pisses off far too many people, in the US and everywhere...

[CookieD18]

She would work well in the short term...but a replacement should be readied if it all goes up in flames.

[Bennett]

Originally Posted by Neko

People say that, but where's the evidence? She ran a shit campaign.

I agree that her campaign was a circus, but she was suffering delusions of grandeur, believing that it was over before it has started.

But she educated at Yale, joined a law firm and was considered one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the US. She established the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the Foster Care Independence Act as First Lady. As NY State Senator she served in 5 Senate committees before becoming chairwoman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and ranks nine in Democrat Senators in the Senate.

I don't think you can do all those things without being a smart cookie.

[P & CA News Bot]

Hillary Clinton will agree to serve as secretary of state under US President-elect Barack Obama, the New York Times reports.

More...

[Francois Cellier]

... and here is the full article from BBC News

Clinton 'will accept State post'

Page last updated at 21:29 GMT, Friday, 21 November 2008


Hillary Clinton will agree to serve as secretary of state in US President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet, the New York Times has reported.

The paper quotes two "confidants" as saying Mrs Clinton has decided to quit her Senate position for the job.

Mrs Clinton's office says discussions are "very much on track" but says further reports are premature.

But correspondents say some kind of deal between the two former political rivals seems far advanced.

The latest report comes after days of speculation on Mrs Clinton's prospects.

The BBC's Kim Ghattas, in Washington, says if Mr Obama did not want those stories out there - because he was not thinking of Mrs Clinton for the job - someone from his team would have already been scotching the reports.

Reports also suggest Mr Obama is likely to pick former presidential candidate and New Mexico Gov Bill Richardson as commerce secretary.

And Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, is expected to be nominated to the post of US Treasury secretary.

American stock markets reacted positively to the reports about Mr Geithner, with the Dow Jones index rising by more than 6%.


Reports 'premature'

Philippe Reines, a senior advisor to Mrs Clinton, told the BBC it would be premature to say Mrs Clinton had accepted the position.

"We're still in discussions, which are very much on track. Any reports beyond that are premature."

But unnamed officials in the Obama and Clinton camps said they had every reason to believe Mr Obama would announce her as his choice, the Associated Press reports.

Mrs Clinton, who was First Lady when her husband Bill served as president from 1993 to 2001, lost a close race against Mr Obama for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

If she is appointed secretary of state (foreign minister), she will have to step down as a senator for New York.

She would succeed Condoleezza Rice, who has had the job for the past four years under President Bush.
To date, the most senior appointment made by Mr Obama, who succeeds President Bush in January, is Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff.

He is expected to announce a round of appointments after the Thanksgiving holiday next Thursday.