I support the idea of Hillary for SofS but folks need to understand the pushback. . .

[wndycty]

. . .I was one of the many DUers who fell out of love with the Clintons during the primary and I'm still hesitant to fully embrace them. I'm hopeful that they will redeem themselves (trust me they need to), and I do believe that Hillary has the potential to make a great Secretary of State. Say what you want, just like Bill and Barack she is beloved throughout the world, she is smart and can do a great job.

But some of Hillary's supporters must realized any skepticism on the part of Obama, his staffers as well as rank and file grassroots Obama supporters (including many DUers) is absolutely justified.

I have no intention of replaying the primaries but folks need to remember the bad blood that existed between the camps and the behavior of the Clinton camp that most Democrats viewed as just crossing the line.

Hillary has my support at State but please don't act like that anyone who would have a problem with her potential appointment is wrong for pushing back on this.

[Tatiana]

1. +1

It's like people forget we have one of the top foreign policy experts as the VEE PEE!!!!!!! Foreign policy experience was half of the ticket! Do you think Joe Biden will hesitate to speak his mind on foreign affairs if his views contradict Hillary's? Of course not.

Obama is building a solid team of individuals who have give him many viewpoints that will hopefully lead to him making the best decisions.

Plus I do think Hillary really does like Obama personally and they have a good relationship now that the primaries are over.

[TexasObserver]

2. No one was more pissed at them during the primaries than me.

I said this summer "if they come through for Obama, all is forgiven."

Well, they did. In my view, they not only came through, they were critical in the Rust Belt and Florida, helping Obama win in pockets of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida.

If I made a list of the ten most talented Democrats, I'd have Bill and Hillary both on the list. Using her in STATE means getting two minds for the price of one, and it means corraling Bill while re-focusing Hillary to international matters.

Obama will have Rahm for the House, and Biden for the Senate, in terms of moving his agenda. He'll have Hill and Bill overseeing foreign matters.

He's just getting started. He's building The Dream Team, a team of all stars.

[dmallind]

3. So the idea is

That the guy who was the actual target of this supposed bad-blood caused by "the Clintons" can overcome it to the extent of offering her a top cabinet post and making her 4th in line for the presidency, but his supporters can't and should be understood for this inability?

By the way there is no "the Clintons". There are Bill and Hillary separately. Hillary is a decent enough Senator and shrewd politician. Bill in Obama's job took 7%+ une,plyment and made it under 4, tripled the stock market, dramatically reduced poverty levels, increased standard of living for all economic sectors, lost not one single combat death in a mission he launched, generated immense good will for the US overseas, and caught and punished the people who attacked the US on his watch (with the exception of the Cole, which was a few weeks before the end of his tenure. If you DO take them together, then by god I wish every poltician had that to "redeem" themselves from, and we'll be lucky indeed if Obama does half as much. And I'm a fan of his.

[Bunny]

8. 4th in line for the Presidency? You need to review the line of succession.

[dmallind]

9. Nope I really don't

The President is not "in line" for the presidency. He HAS the presidency. Elizabeth II is not "in line" for the throne, but on it. Same idea.

So in an Obama administration you would have

1st in Line - VP - Biden
2nd in Line - Speaker of House - Pelosi unless some wild challenge is successful
3rd in Line - Pres pro Tem of Senate - Inouye IIRC will take over from Byrd
4th in Line - SoS - the job Hillary is reputed to be offreed or albeit not definitively. Yet in the context of this hypothetical an entirely correct scenario that he would indeed be offering her the 4th spot in line

[Bunny]

10. D'oh! You're right. I miscounted.

SOS would be fourth in line. Sorry about that. :blush:

[dmallind]

11. Nae worries. Thx NT

[riverwalker]

4. it's not just bad blood from primaries

it's all the baggage and re-treads that comes with the Clintons.
All the Clinton left overs make me uneasy. Dennis Ross. Rahm Emanuel. We need new blood, new ideas.
Like Samantha Powers.

[grantcart]

5. There won't be much push back because the people who support

Obama don't 'believe' in him -- they have confidence in him.


They don't just agree to his decisions they will listen to his explanation.



I think Hillary will be an ambitious, effective and tenacious SOS carrying out Obama's foreign policy.


Moreover it absolutely eliminates all possible hurt feelings that Hillary supporters might have had. Even if she does not take it they can never say that Obama didn't respect her. Whatever small push back he will get will be more than offset by the complete illimnation of bad feelings that Clinton loyalists had.

[helderheid]

6. I agree

[BlooInBloo]

7. A reasonable Clinton supporter? There must be snowball fights in hell.