Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Was Clinton Really Offered the Sec of State Gig?

So, rumors are flying about that President-elect Barack Obama’s Secretary of State offer to Senator Hillary Clinton may be as real as Spencer and Heidi Montag’s wedding stunt (sorry, my first and last The Hills reference). According to “two senior Democratic officials,” Obama “offered” Senator Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting on Thursday in Chi-town.

The Huffington Post reported that:

Mrs. Clinton's and her closest advisers' turning a suggestion by the President-elect that she might, among other things, head the State Department into an "offer" and reports that she was agonizing over whether to accept it, did not please officials in Chicago, some of whom hoped that issues over disclosure of Bill Clinton's post-presidential record might block the appointment. But the former president's camp blocked that by promising to cooperate with requests for information and to accept limits on his activities, including clearance of speaking engagements abroad.

Statements by the Hilary camp on November 21 saying that "she's ready" for the position but then backtracking, saying that some matters were "under discussion," typified the whole mess, the only snag thus far in an otherwise unusually smooth transition involving impressive choices--an object lesson to Obama (which he had reason to know already) that getting involved with the Clintons is rarely uncomplicated.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt that Senator Hillary Clinton would be a smart, tough and capable department head - but given her disagreements with Obama on foreign policy - I'm iffy on whether this is the best position for her. We'll know for sure after the T-giving holiday!

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