Friday, November 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton: Madam Chairman or Madam Secretary?

My headlines are disquieting.

They tell me that Hillary Clinton, in playing hard to get, is playing Barack Obama. What has happened to the Obama PR machine? asks the San Jose Examiner. The Obama campaign has run an extremely tight ship, until recently. No leaks. All of a sudden the Obama transition team looks like my hose. I'm getting sprayed from a number of unexpected quarters.

I recognize, as some have suggested that strategic leaking is a method of beta-testing a number one candidate on a short list. In this case it shouldn't seem to pertain because Hillary is a thoroughly vetted alpha-dog -person. Yeah, of course, Big Dog is the beta in her case, maybe even a gamma. But I would think if Bill Clinton can be elevated to beta level it would be all "go" for Hill. I just have my big doubts about Bill's luggage, as all of my dwindling readers know.

But this is going on for an unseemly amount of time. I just have to think if maybe the chick is just playing hard to get? Is she asking how big the ring on her finger will be? Or, how short will the leash on Joe Biden be? This possibility of HRC bargaining with the President-Elect is not appropriate and does not bode well for the eventual chain of command.

I have to wonder if Obama, having turned open an offer for Secretary of State, seeing the hose leaking as it is, might be thinking of slowly turning off the spigot. When an all-star baseball player has an offer extended to him, there's always a time limit attached to it for acceptance. Totally appropriate in both cases. Time's flying. Alternative plans must be made. to fill positions and budget payroll.

Barack can still freeze Hillary out, of course.

He could minimize her hurt feelings of being jilted by having his Senate minions sweeten her pie(s) in the legislative branch. Hillary's feelings were disclosed in the NYT by a close friend who insisted on not being named:
Her experience in the Senate with some of her colleagues has not been the easiest time for her. She’s still a very junior senator. She doesn’t have a committee. And she’s had some disappointing times with her colleagues.
It's not that elections have consequences so much as it is that shoddy, dirty, and negative campaigns do. Nevertheless, it's my hope that if Joke L. can be given what he is not due - Committee on Homeland Security - this Clinton can get some kind of recognition. Maybe she's thinking she should get two committees?

Whatever. Give the lady her due. But let's move on, huh?

11 comments:

  1. Hillary watched what happened to Joe Lieberman and concluded that bad behavior is rewarded by the Obama administration.

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  2. What a load of crap. What bad behavior has Hillary exhibited other than running against him in the primary? Is she expected to laud his praises while she pursues the same job? Don't let's be ridiculous. Obama has been president elect for just over two weeks and he is being criticized from those who pretend to know better.

    This is a guy who ran the smartest campaign in history but, according to some, is unable to cipher through the bullshit and make his own decisions. I for one am thrilled that he pays no attention to the naysayers and those who seek nothing more than revenge as in the case of Lieberman.

    I want an independent thinker in the WH, unlike the toadie we have now. If Obama thinks Hillary is the best choice for SoS then I trust his judgment, implicitly! In other words I support our president elect. Gasp! What a concept!!

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  3. I agree with MM, although I must admit I sort of though a seat on the Supremes would have been a better place for her. I write this not as an insult or to deride Hillary because she will be a good SoS.

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  4. Well, it's inevitable, I guess. I guess I'll join in the Hallelujah chorus. HRC may not be so bad. If Hillary accepts, to paraphrase what Harry Belafonte said of Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War,

    Clinton will be the best Secretary of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . that Barack Obama has.

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  5. Joe Conason: Get over it, Clinton haters

    Obama's choice of rival Hillary Clinton for secretary of state shows his political wisdom. And the vetting suggests the Clintons -- surprise! -- have little to hide.

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  6. You all can congratulate yourselves that the President-Elect has nominated for Secretary of State a senator who has never apologized for her Oct 2002 vote Authorization for the Iraq War:

    The NIE also challenged the notion of any operational ties between the Iraqi government and Al-Qaeda and questioned some of the more categorical claims by President Bush about Iraq's WMDs. However, Senator Clinton didn't even bother to read it. She now claims that it wasn't necessary for her to have actually looked at the 92-page document herself because she was briefed on the contents of the report. However, since no one on her staff was authorized to read it, it's unclear who could have actually briefed her.

    Source.

    Pathetic

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  7. Why don't you tell us how many legislators voted for that same resolution Boria? I think you will find that very few, if any, apologized for being led down the primrose path by a corrupt and venal administration.

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  8. Senate Democrats who voted for Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114 ) 11 October 2002 who later became presidential candidates:

    Biden (D-DE)
    Clinton (D-NY)
    Dodd (D-CT)
    Edwards (D-NC)
    Kerry (D-MA)
    Lieberman (D-CT)

    Of these, Senator who never apologized:

    Clinton (D-NY)

    Question asked and answered.

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  9. Ask GetaLife-ReadUrNews a question and get an intelligent answer. He is right about Clinton. Only 23 Senators voted against the resolution, so they don't need to apologize.

    Boris, thanks for the great link. The Common Dreams post concerns me, yet I still think Obama made a good choice for SoS. And I'm moving on, too. Bill Richardson is the new Secretary of Commerce: great news.

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