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Hillary Clinton “offered” SoS – Will she take it? **UPDATE X 3 **

Unity

This rumor has been out there for a couple of days …

….and it seems to be gaining some traction.

Update X 3 (props to trustno1): Obama “officialy” offers position to Hillary?

Huffy

President-elect Barack Obama offered Sen. Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting Thursday in Chicago, according to two senior Democratic officials. She requested time to consider the offer, the officials said.

Spiff says (if the rumors are true) :

These are serious and difficult times–the usual rules may not apply.

There is a window of opportunity here where the world is unsettled.

The USA can play a huge role in reshaping things at a global level.

Shaping them in a way advantageous to the US and positive for the world.

This IS a defining moment in history.

This is NOT the time for payback and political posturing.

We need to bring all the heavy hitters into the game now and put them into play.

Love or hate her–Hillary is a player.

I say bring her on .

Update x 2 (props to Indie):

CNN:

Clinton went to the meeting Thursday with Obama because “she knew Obama wanted to talk about whether she would have a role in the administration,” one of the sources knowledgeable about the meeting said.

Obama and Clinton met in Chicago, Illinois, at the request of the president-elect, the sources told CNN.

The two sources said Clinton was surprised to hear rumors she was being considered for secretary of state position. The sources could not confirm that the she and Obama discussed the nation’s top diplomatic position or that it was offered.

Hillary speaks :

“I’m very happy there is so much press attention and interest in transit,” Clinton said to laughs.

“In the off chance that you’re not here for this important issue and are here for some other reason, let me just say that I’m not going to speculate or address anything about the president-elect’s incoming administration.”

She added: “I’m going to respect his process and any inquiries should be directed to his transition team.”

Video here.

A Democratic official confirms to the Huffington Post that Sen. Hillary Clinton met with President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday to discuss her role in the new administration.

Update :

Ambinder

Sen. Hillary Clinton spent the day in Chicago on “private” business, fueling speculation that she met with President-elect Barack Obama to discuss a position in his cabinet, possibly Secretary of State.

Obama spent time today at his transition headquarters and at a nearby federal building. Clinton was not seen at either place, although reporters staking out Obama reported seeing a separate motorcade consisting of three SUVs leave Obama’s building’s garage. (Post-primaries, Clinton generally travels in a two-car motorcade.)

Halperin:

Several minutes before President-elect Obama’s motorcade emerged from the basement garage beneath his transition headquarters, another unidentified motorcade of approximately three SUVs left the garage.

Could it be true?

Sen. Hillary Clinton, who lost to Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary, is being considered to serve as secretary of state in the Obama administration, NBC News reported on Thursday.

SAY YES!

SAY YES!

The report cited two unnamed advisers to President-elect Obama.

The Clinton camp neither denies nor confirms.

The report said Clinton’s office would only say that any decisions on the appointment would be up to the president-elect.

Well. It’s pretty clear where I stand on this. As much as I respect Senators, that place is to small to hold Hillary Clinton.

This would be a great opportunity for US to have her in a role where she can shine and represent US as only Hillary Clinton can.

Besides…

Would anybody else be better for the job?

Getting a bit carried away here. But I’m stoked!

I hadn’t paid much attention to the rumors (didn’t want to get my hopes up) but this “leak” seems solid as does the non denial.

Not much to add to this.

What do you guys think?


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 144 Comments

144 comments

  2. anna shane

    thanks spacey, this is the bestest news, and proof that Barack is going for the best qualified. he said they agreed on 99 percent of everything and i think that one percent pertained to who should win the nomination.  who better?  (hint: no one)

    xxxx annie

  3. John Allen

    I heard Hillary mentioned for veep, majority leader, or the SC, but no mention of her as SoS. I think I like this idea. Can you imagine what an impact she can have in this position? I wonder if she would draft Bill to work behind the scenes for her? Then again, I’ve been reading about some possible roles for Big Dog in the foreign policy field – special envoy to Afghanistan, for instance.

  4. John Allen

    I heard Hillary mentioned for veep, majority leader, or the SC, but no mention of her as SoS. I think I like this idea. Can you imagine what an impact she can have in this position? I wonder if she would draft Bill to work behind the scenes for her? Then again, I’ve been reading about some possible roles for Big Dog in the foreign policy field – special envoy to Afghanistan, for instance.

  5. Hollede

    I was thinking about the choices floated out already and have not been impressed by the thought of Kerry or Richardson. I was wondering who would be perfect and when I saw the breaking news that it might be Hillary I knew who it should be. I am not certain that this is best for Clinton, but she would be awesome at State. After all she is da man!

    Holliwood

  7. louisprandtl

    For me another interesting thing aspect was why was this name leaked to the Press? Given the tight ship that Obama runs, this leak is deliberate and a trial balloon?  Hey Space, why don’t you use one of your powerful spy satellites and let us know what happening in that Chicago office of Obama? The Moose needs to tap in…;)

  8. rfahey22

    I normally don’t like poaching elected politicians to fill appointed roles, because after the administration ends, they are out of a job.  I also don’t like appointing politicians to such posts simply on account of their celebrity and not because they have applicable experience (a good example would be the “Edwards for AG” campaign, despite the fact that Edwards has never been an AUSA).  However, Clinton would be a more dynamic pick than Kerry, and clearly she has the international experience to pull the job off.  It would be a loss for the Senate, though.

  9. fogiv

    I don’t see any major downsides.  She’d be great at it, there’s little doubt about that.  I wonder though, does she really want to give up her career in the Senate (where she’s a powerhouse, even as a Junior)?  Cost/benefit analysis says “no”.

    That’s some serious power and influence, and she’s got nowhere to go but up, accruing more all the time.  She could easily stay in the Senate for life if she chose to.  

    I genuinely believe that she’s a workhorse, and wants to do as much good as she can for as long as she can.  I think maybe that means staying put, but WTF do I know?

    I’ll say this: if the offer is for rizzle, and she wants it, I’m totally down whizit.

  10. NavyBlueWife

    This thread seems to have taken an interesting turn, so let’s see what happens to me.

    I do not support HRC to be Secretary of State.  On the flip side, I would not have supported Obama to be Secretary of State either.

    To me, their greatest strengths lie in their abilities to be leaders–identifying problems, organizing people, finding the best and most intelligent people to deal with those problems, and pushing through the solutions.  They are not necessarily experts in any one substantive field, but they are experts in leading people and delegating work to be done.

    HRC is one tough, smart, admirable woman who has done many great things, but I see her strongest work and most expert dealings on domestic issues, like health care for example.  Secretary of State is primarily a foreign policy and affairs position that requires a lot of expertise on foreign issues.  That’s not to say that she doesn’t have some experience there.  I just don’t think that her experience lends itself to expertise given the enormous challenges that we face on a foreign policy level.  I think her skill set, talent and expertise could be better utilized on domestic issues, either in the Senate or, if she wants to be in the executive branch, in a post related to those domestic issues (Secretary of Health and Human Services?)  But even so, I see her more as a leader and delegator, like Obama, which is why to me she seems more qualified to be our President than to be our Secretary of State.  (I haven’t see a proliferation of Secretary of State and Presidency crossover for the different fields, skill sets, expertise reasons I mentioned above.)

  11. alyssa chaos

    is it true? who knows. I thought the Rahm Emanuel leak was supposed to be just a headfake or something, so it seems like the Hillary leak could turn out to be just as true.

    I think Obama knows what he’s doing. If he asks her then its safe to say that he thinks shes right for the job.

    The only down side I could see is that she is seen as ‘polarizing’ by alot of people on both sides of the aisle [lets face it].  That and it will take her focus away from alot of the core issues she championed for earlier this year, it seems like she might get more stuff done by staying in the Senate, stuff more aligned with her vision that she laid out during the primaries.

  12. Peter Jukes

    …a senior position for Hillary in the cabinet is a good thing. Whatever the tensions during the campaign, Obama has already recruited the experienced cadre of former administration officials into his transition team. He’s learned from the mistakes of 92, and to hit the ground running with people who know the mechanisms of government is vital. They won’t control policy, but they will know how to make it happen.

    My only doubt is what position Hillary will ACCEPT. It’s clear, contrary to the outrage of certain sections, that she rejected the idea of VP before it was even offered. SOS would be the highest profile job for a great figure in the democratic party – and perhaps the only thing that will tempt her from the senate.

    My guess is that she will take some role even at the expense of her senate seat. Barring some unforeseen disaster, the chances of a 2012 run are totally remote, and so now she is angling for the best most effective job in her career. 2016 is too far away to bank anything on, so being the reasonable person she is, Hillary will want to be a big part of the Obama administration. And Obama is smart enough to know you need ALL the talent available at a time like this, and past animosities should be dropped for the sake of a country in crisis

  14. GrassrootsOrganizer

    Sorry.

    Our reputation around the world has been trashed.  As SoS, Clinton would represent to the rest of the world the best of what we are becoming — someone with a longstanding reputation for giving a damn about conditions around the world especially for women in the third world.   She is commanding, electric, unflappable and tough as steel.  Kerry?  Please.  

    She’s not a sycophant like Rice and she’s a far more appealing figure than Albright, so there’s plenty of “glass ceiling” there to be owned by Hillary.  At the same time she’ll never earn a Nobel Prize for her management skills, so other cabinet posts seem all wrong for her.  

    I don’t care if Obama “owes” her or anyone else anything and I find those arguments for Kerry and Richardson utterly annoying.  The SoS appointment is much bigger than payback and she’s perfect for it if she wants it.    

  15. John Allen

    Meanwhile, a Democratic official speaking on grounds of anonymity said that Obama met in Chicago with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is under consideration for secretary of state.

    The two met on Thursday afternoon, said the official, who asked not to be publicly identified because the official was not authorized to release the information.

    The motorcade of Clinton, who receives Secret Service protection as a former first lady, was seen leaving the office complex shortly before Obama left for the day. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines would say only that “Senator Clinton had no public schedule yesterday.”

    Obama has surrounded himself with several former staffers of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Some of them are pushing Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Other senators, including Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts and Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, also are thought to be under consideration.

    This report seems to offer some support for the rumor. The newspaper threw Chuck Hagel in there. I doubt very much that he is under serious consideration. I’m sure Hagel will be rewarded somehow for his support of Obama, however I don’t think it will be with a senior cabinet appointment like SoS.

  16. John Allen

    the rumors are getting stronger and stronger about Gates staying on for a year as SecDef. I suspect this might be an interim appointment until General Clark becomes eligible to take over the position.

  17. John Allen

    of Hillary as SoS. Never thought I’d see the day when he favored Hillary for any position in gov. I’ve come to the conclusion that he is a bit of a misogynist.  

  18. psychodrew

    I remembered this incident from 1998 when I first heard that Hillary was being considered.  Do you think this earned Hillary some credibility among the Palestinians?

    Speaking by satellite from Washington with young Israelis and Arabs meeting here, Hillary Rodham Clinton said today that it would be in the long-term interest of the Middle East for the Palestinians to have a state.

    Mrs. Clinton used the word ”Palestine” in answer to a question and then was asked why she would use that term ”considering the fact that right now this country does not exist.”

    She replied: ”Well, I think that it will be in the long-term interest of the Middle East for Palestine to be a state, to be a state that is responsible for its citizens’ well-being, a state that has responsibility for providing education and health care and economic opportunity to its citizens.”

    [In Washington, Marsha Berry, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Clinton, said that the First Lady was giving her own personal views and that they did not represent the position of the Clinton Administration.]

    Mrs. Clinton added, ”I think that the territory that the Palestinians currently inhabit, and whatever additional territory they will obtain through the peace negotiations” should in the interest of peace be considered ”a functioning modern state.”

    • John Allen

      There’s no real Hillary hate here. The one thing we all agreed on when we were creating this blog was to move beyond the primary wars. We haven’t been perfect, but we’ve done pretty good, so far.

    • Chris Blask

      I don’t mean to stomp on your right to have a voice, dissent and emoting aren’t always bad and you reflect a real demographic of folks with badly bent feelings, which is real enough and deserves to be recognized.    But I’d suggest that Obama has proven all of us wrong so far when we think he’s taking the wrong tack, so when he seems to be going in a direction it may be worth stepping back and seeing if he might (again) be right.

      We don’t know whether this is just rumor, but as someone who has not be unable to criticize Sen. Clinton I think this is a great role for her.  Richardson is cool but he just doesn’t strike me as the kind of badass you send to blink down Kim Jung Il, Daschel’s good and I would probably be ok with him, Kerry is no slouch but it doesn’t give me zings to have him in the role.  Something about Hillary in Albright’s shoes seems to fit really well.  She sure as hell wouldn’t stutter like Condi did for the first few years (and I like Condi, sorry folks), she’d be the kind of polite pain in the ass that a good SoS needs to be when situations call for it.

  19. trustno1

    From the HuffPo:

    President-elect Barack Obama offered Sen. Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting Thursday in Chicago, according to two senior Democratic officials. She requested time to consider the offer, the officials said.

    All the anonymous junk makes my head spin…

    • Hollede

      We really need to be on alert if they try to do this to President-e Obama. And crush them when they start doing their thing (’cause you know they will).

  22. louisprandtl

    had offered the SoS position. Clintons thrive on such challenges and tackling the current problems in the World might appeal to her more than the Junior Senator position of NY.

    On the other hand what does it tell you about President Obama? He surely does not want yes-men around him like Bush…by having folks who can tell him as it is, he is telling us that he does not want to see the World through the blinkered vision behind the walls of the White House…Also it does tell me, that Obama is surely a confident person who is un-afraid of embracing his former critics…this is what is needed from our President to steer our ship during these turbulent current times.

    • anna shane

      she may have lost the primary but she showed herself and she isn’t polarizing or seen that way anymore.  The changes have already started.  

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