What are everyone's thoughts on Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State?
Background on me: It's probably not a secret that I'm a pretty devout liberal. I supported HRC over Barack Obama in the primary, not out of dislike for him - I'm jazzed he's our President-elect - but after a side-by-side comparison of the two helped me determine that I preferred HRC's policies. I was concerned about her electability and the liability of her husband, but being that I knew I'd be happy to vote for any of the Democratic candidates in November, I decided to cast my primary ballot for the candidate whose ideals most aligned with mine.
That being said, while I'm thrilled that the President-elect is considering HRC for State, I have had a low-level feeling of discomfort about it. This
article in the Chicago Tribune is the closest I've found to a summary of my fears.
To summarize the article: The best Secretaries of State have not only had good relationships with world leaders and gravitas - both of which HRC brings to the table - but they've also been very close to their Presidents, such that on the world stage there was never any doubt that the Secretaries of State were speaking for their Presidents. Specific concerns are that HRC has not publicly abandoned the notion of ending her political career after her tenure as Secretary of State. What role will be played by her own positioning of herself for future electability? Will world leaders always believe that she's the voice of the President and not speaking for herself? Also, even if she walks the line, her husband may still be a rogue. WJC has been known to call reporters on his own in an effort to spin a story in his wife's favor. Of course, coming from a former President, those conversations always appear in print. Will the former President be able to hold his tongue and let his wife take some heat for her boss, which would be her job as Secretary of State?
Thoughts?
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