Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State?
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have had talks about her becoming his Secretary of State
Photo: GETTY
There is talk that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is being considered for the post of Secretary of State.
There's increasing chatter in political circles that the Obama camp is
not overly happy with the usual suspects for secretary of state these
days and that the field might be expanding somewhat beyond Sen. John
Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), Sen. Chuck Hagel
(R-Neb.) and maybe former Democratic senator Sam Nunn of Georgia.
There's talk, indeed, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) may now be under consideration for the post. Her office referred any questions to the Obama transition; Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to comment.
The pick of the former presidential contender and Senate Armed Services Committee member would go a long way toward healing any remaining divisions within the Democratic Party after the divisive primaries. Also, Clinton has long been known for her work on international women's issues and human rights. The former first lady could also enhance Obama's efforts to restore U.S. standing amongst allies worldwide.
The Washington Post
I've been having a discussion via email with a friend in India about the possibility of a woman president in the next election, specifically Hillary Clinton. He wondered what my thoughts were on the chances of the US electing a woman president post-Obama. My thoughts are that it would depend on what kind of job President Elect Obama does in his first term. I think that for many voters the determining factor wont be the gender of the candidate but the qualifications that he or she will bring to the job. I wouldn't vote for a woman candidate just because she was a woman — I would have to think that she was the best candidate.
My friend agreed with me and said that it's going to be difficult to match up to President Obama's appeal. I told him that I definitely think that the country can envision a woman as President. And isn't it interesting that the ability to envision a woman as president has been linked to television and film roles that have been written to portray female presidencies (Fact or Fiction: Are We Ready for the First Female President)?
He completely understands the link, telling me that "Bollywood has a major role to play in how the Indian masses think and react to situations, which is why you'll find a major chunk of Bollywood movies steering clear of political issues - it could easily lead to chaos!"
If Hillary does accept the post of Secretary of State, that would certainly make our conversation about her running a moot one.
Trackbacks
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11/22/2008 2:27 PM
Ad Libitum wrote:
The New York Times is reporting that Hillary Clinton has accepted the post of secretary of state. As mentioned here, in another post, that will take consideration of her running against Obama in 2012 out of the picture. Here's an excerpt of the article from the NYT that addresses some of the issues that I find intriguing about her appointment: For Mrs. Clinton, becoming secretary of state would require her to sacrifice the independence that has come with a Senate seat and the 18 million votes she collected in the primary season. She has found it liberating the ... -
11/22/2008 2:32 PM
Ad Libitum wrote:
The New York Times is reporting that Hillary Clinton has accepted the post of secretary of state. As I mentioned here, that will take consideration of her running against Obama in 2012 out of the picture. Here's an excerpt of the article from the NYT that addresses some of the issues that I find intriguing about her appointment: For Mrs. Clinton, becoming secretary of state would require her to sacrifice the independence that has come with a Senate seat and the 18 million votes she collected in the primary season. She has found it liberating the last eight ... -
11/22/2008 11:40 PM
Ad Libitum wrote:
The New York Times is reporting that Hillary Clinton has accepted the post of secretary of state. As I mentioned here, if she accepts the position, that will take consideration of her running against Obama in 2012 out of the picture. Here's an excerpt of the article from the NYT that addresses some of the issues that I find intriguing about her appointment: For Mrs. Clinton, becoming secretary of state would require her to sacrifice the independence that has come with a Senate seat and the 18 million votes she collected in the primary season. She has found ... -
12/1/2008 3:04 PM
Ad Libitum wrote:
Photo courtesy of The Christian Science MonitorThe wondering is over. Hillary Clinton is the new Secretary of State.From the US News and World Report:With a fond farewell to her New York constituents, Sen. Hillary Clinton stood this morning with her one-time rival, President-elect Barack Obama, and proudly agreed to serve as his Secretary of State.Congratulations, Hillary!Expectations are high, according to Boston.com:Clinton's ascension to be the nation's top diplomat also gives new hope to supporters of international women's rights, who see Clinton as one of the world's leading figures in the fight to improve education, safety, and economic opportunity for ... -
12/1/2008 4:07 PM
Ad Libitum wrote:
Photo courtesy of The Christian Science MonitorThe wondering is over. Hillary Clinton has been nominated as the new Secretary of State.From the US News and World Report:With a fond farewell to her New York constituents, Sen. Hillary Clinton stood this morning with her one-time rival, President-elect Barack Obama, and proudly agreed to serve as his Secretary of State.Congratulations, Hillary!Expectations are high, according to Boston.com:Clinton's ascension to be the nation's top diplomat also gives new hope to supporters of international women's rights, who see Clinton as one of the world's leading figures in the fight to improve education, safety, and ...
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