Friday, November 21, 2008

Confidantes: Hillary Rodham Clinton Accepts Secretary Of State



(image via Damon Winter/The New York Times)

While we would rather have the immensely qualified and politically glorious Governor Bill Richardson as Obama's Secretary of State, we understand the politics. We understand, though it stings. Now it is a Team of Rivals that President-elect Obama has created. According to The New York Times:

"Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.

"The apparent accord between perhaps the two leading figures in the Democratic Party climaxed a week-long drama that riveted the nation’s capital.

"Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation."


Will the Hillary pick break the hearts of Obamaniacs? Is this their first introduction to the world of hardball politics ("sorry kid, thems the breaks")?

Our consolation: when it comes to negotiating with the Chinese, there is no one we would rather have staring down the mandarins of Beijing than the steely Hillary Rodham Clinton that emerged from the fiery furnace of Pennsylvania Demcrat primary.

Howie Kurtz Tweets: "By the time Obama actually announces Hillary it will be *old* news. Except in NY, where Andrew Cuomo & others will be vying for Senate appt."

More questions: Does Cuomo really want this seat? In the past, the Attorney General has been focused -- laser like -- on the Governorship, a position his father held and he has sought before a defeat to the Establishment candidate H. Carl McCall. Cuomo, in our opinion, has been seeking to restore family honor (not unlike Bush, 43 in the wake of Bush, 41's defeat at the hands of Clinton, ironically Cuomo's political patron). A Senate seat, which Cuomo is immensely qualified to fill, might break that Father-and-Sons psychodramatic loop. If not, Robert Kennedy, Jr. -- again, the political legacies bequeathed by fathers to their sons! -- might be a sleeper pick.



(image via npr/books)

David Patterson, who has spent his life as a legislator, has been a lackluster Governor thus far. And he doesn't seem to be having any fun after his surprise appointment post-Spitzergate. Does Patterson appoint himself, fleeing the quagmire of the budgetary process in Albany, in the wake of this financial crisis?

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