Why They Hate Her is Why She Would Be Great at State
Max Baucus and Ted Kennedy have grabbed HRC’s near paths to stardom in the Senate by claiming finance and healthcare, with Dodd stepping in at Kennedy’s request. HRC wants to have a big impact and she hasn’t, in a good way, yet. If Bill’s activities don’t disqualify her from the job, I think SoS is perfect for HRC. At 1st, I thought ‘NOT diplomatic, not prone to transparency, blindly ambitious, voted for Iraq War Resolution, called Obama naive, likes a half-truth, and is her most convincing when threatened with failure, not when making nice. And then, I realized that these traits translate as assets in a role as Chief Demander, steam-roller, power-broker, arm-twister, ultimatum- and cold-shoulder giver. If HRC drew a line in the sand, would you cross it? On the flip side for her own interests, being SoS in these times is an enormous challenge and so an opportunity to be great, really great, Nobel Peace Prize great (take that Al Gore). She will be expected to be ‘ready on day one’ to negotiate substantial agreements and show us solutions (at last!). She can be gracious or steely at will, show her tenacity, her fight, her encyclopedic knowledge, and deliver results, proving Barack to be anything but naive. She is agenda driven not visionary, familiar to world leaders, undaunted by the sheiks, and a famous supporter of Israel. Those still skeptical about whether Obama is a secret Muslim or has a soft spot for Hamas have Hillary to protect them. Sort of a great F-You to the Middle Eastern thugs who ‘endorsed’ Obama. Lastly, SoS is not a position where one can go renegade any longer than it takes to make a cell phone call.
It is not only dumb, but cynical in the extreme to think, for a nano-second, that Barack Obama is dumb and would imperil his drive to be the greatest U.S. President ever by appointing anyone whom he considers less than the best to any prominent position. Yes he is ambitious and competitive and we should only be worried if a president is not. We have yet to see Obama quake in front of a competitor, a rival, a thug, a terrorist or a world power. I haven’t seen him exhibit disingenuous motives or offer sympathy positions to anyone. If HRC feels valued by Biden and Obama for her assets and abilities and, if she values the wisdom of the vision she is challenged to implement, she could be the most important SoS in recent decades. Be it defusing Iran, testing the word of Congolese rebels, smacking down Venezula, or telling Syria, Lebanon and Jordan to get with the program or off the stage, her keen sense about when to strike could be just what we need.
I can see her now, gloriously triumphant in the desert sun at the signing of the ‘Israeli-Palestinian Territorial and Most-Favored-Nations Agreement Pact’. Behind her, Bill is weeping tears of joy while Joe Biden can barely keep his smile from taking over his face as he passes the pen back and forth. I hope so, so shoot me. Hillary Clinton is driven to find a place for her greatness and Barack Obama has offered her the vehicle and pointed to her seat. YOU.GO.GIRL
