Secretary of State

[Squidly]

Last edited Tue May 26, 2020, 10:43 AM - Edit history (1)

I've been thinking a lot about this lately. Biden needs to choose the next Secretary of State very carefully. That person will need to mend a LOT of fences. That person should be well known and highly respected by most of the other world's leaders.

Now, I know this is just a pipe dream, and I highly doubt he would do it, but could you imagine if that person was Barack Obama??

There is absolutely no precedent for a former POTUS to hold such a high office. In fact, the ONLY former president to hold any public office after his term was John Quincy Adams serving as a US representative. But we are living in uncharted territory here.

One can only dream....

***edited for my historical inaccuracies

[Coleman]

1. Taft became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

After being President.

[Squidly]

5. Good catch!

[Sanity Claws]

2. I hear you but...

Obama would be better used as a Special Envoy. He could mend fences in that capacity. I just can't imagine him taking a FT all consuming role as SofS would be.

Susan Rice is known among our allies and would be a good SofS, IMHO.

[aeromanKC]

3. Obama would over shadow Biden's perceived authority

John Kerry perhaps..??

(JQ Adams and Howard Taft might also disagree with part of your post)

[Squidly]

7. My bad...sucks getting old...

I had Madison and Adams confused...thanks

[DFW]

4. Bring back John Kerry, if he's willing

Respected, knows the ropes and the people.

[Squidly]

6. I like that idea too!

Oh what could have been if he hadn't been swiftboated...

[DFW]

14. Swiftboated and Kenneth Blackwelled

Although the electronic voting machine CEOs had said "we will deliver Ohio for Bush," the pre-election polls AND THE EXIT POLLS said Kerry had won Ohio and with it, the presidency. In Ohio in 2004, ONLY Diebold and ESS voting machines were used, and both companies had gone to court before the election to get their software declared (by a Republican judge) to be "private property," which meant the hard drives, after the "results" were reported, could not be forensically examined without the owners' permission (it was not forthcoming).

In ONE out-of-the-way precinct, the hard drive of the voting machine WAS forensically examined before the manufacturer came to collect it. It was used in a precinct with 600 registered voters. It gave 3000 votes to Bush. It was declared a "glitch," and 2400 votes were subtracted from Cheneybush's margin of victory in Ohio, but they STILL refused to let ANY of the other machines be examined.

As one Republican at the heart of the matter carelessly let slip, after having a few too many:

"We'll take care of the counting." and so they did.

[snowybirdie]

8. It was

John Quincy Adams who became a representative after serving. He died practically on the floor of the House. He's a forgotten very good man.

[keithbvadu2]

9. Hillary?

[in2herbs]

10. Wouldn't Putin mess his drawers if he knew that Hillary was going to be SoS. As far as I'm concerned

she could use the office to pursue her own agenda as well as the country's.

[KatyMan]

11. Wouldn't Obama be disqaulified?

Since the SOS is 4th in line should something happen to the President. As he's already server two terms, would that mean he couldn't serve?

[Staph]

12. Kissinger and Albright.

Both were naturalized citizens and both were Secretary of State. I assume that, had catastrophe happened in either case, that they would have been bypassed in the line of succession. That would presumably happen if President Obama took the job.

[KatyMan]

13. Good point,

and after I posted that I looked up the line of succesion and Elaine Chou is on it, but with a note that she's disqualified as she wasn't born in the US, but is a naturalized citizen and she is skipped.
Guess I should have gone to Wiki first!