A new spate of press reports raise the possibility that President Elect Barack Obama is seriously considering his former rival for the Democratic nomination New York Senator Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State.
The reports are the latest collection of guessing game news stories — but they do deserve more credence than the usual speculative reportage since they are now coming from several different news organizations, and Clinton’s statement about her future plans leave her enough wiggle room to take the position.
Look at the reports and, in the shell game that is known as interpreting reporting and sourcing, it seems as if this is a combination trial balloon and signal that Obama may be seeking to make some decisions that are out of the conventional wisdom thinking box which had several other more predictable names being bandied about. For instance, The Washington Post says this:
There’s increasing chatter in political circles that the Obama camp is not overly happy with the usual suspects for secretary of state these days and that the field might be expanding somewhat beyond Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and maybe former Democratic senator Sam Nunn of Georgia.
There’s talk, indeed, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) may now be under consideration for the post. Her office referred any questions to the Obama transition; Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to comment.
The pick of the former presidential contender and Senate Armed Services Committee member would go a long way toward healing any remaining divisions within the Democratic Party after the divisive primaries. Also, Clinton has long been known for her work on international women’s issues and human rights. The former first lady could also enhance Obama’s efforts to restore U.S. standing amongst allies worldwide.
There would be another plus side of the pick for Obama that isn’t mentioned by the Post. Once Obama won the nomination, many key Republicans — even some conservative talk show hosts — professed admiration for Clinton, for her being more of a centrist than Obama, and sympathy for the way she had been treated by the Obama camp. Kerry, Richardson and, to a lesser extent, Nunn would be easier to denounce than Clinton who has also been praised by both members of the defeated Republican Presidential ticket, Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin.
There’s also a BEEN THERE/DONE THAT aura around the names of Kerry, Richardson and Nunn. None would be seen as exciting or bold choices. Picking Clinton would also send a signal that Obama intended to follow a more centrist foreign policy, which might not please some progressive Democrats.
Is the Post just blowing a lot of smoke? It doesn’t appear that way since the number of reports that Clinton is under consideration — plus a curious development in Chicago — are making this story more than pure speculation. Read ABC News:
ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, Jake Tapper and Z. Byron Wolf report: Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was President-elect Barack Obama’s leading rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is being considered for the job of secretary of state in the Obama administration, sources with knowledge of the transition process tell ABC News.
Discussions about Clinton, D-N.Y., being asked to accept the post are “very serious,” an Obama source says.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has been considered a leading contender for the post. But last week, ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos reported on “Good Morning America” that Clinton also was in the running to be Obama’s secretary of state pick.
Stephanopoulos still has excellent sources in the Clinton camp (the Clintons, after all, are his former bosses).And the news reports about Clinton’s name being under consideration don’t stop there. NBC News:
Two Obama advisers have told NBC News that Hillary Clinton is under consideration to be secretary of state. Would she be interested? Those who know Clinton say possibly. But her office says that any decisions about the transition are up to the president-elect and his team.
Clinton was seen taking a flight to Chicago today, but an adviser says it was on personal business. It is unknown whether she had any meeting or conversation with Obama while there.
And CNN’s item is also source from the Obama camp — with a statement from Clinton that does not totally, definitively rule out her consideration of the job:
Two sources close to the Obama transition team tell CNN that Senator Hillary Clinton’s name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Secretary of State.
One source close to Hillary Clinton tells CNN that as of early yesterday, Senator Clinton had not been contacted by the transition team about a possible cabinet appointment. This same source tells CNN that Senator Clinton would not necessarily dismiss such an offer.
A spokesman for Hillary Clinton, Philippe Reines, tells CNN “Any speculation about cabinet or other administration appointments is really for President-Elect Obama’s transition team to address.”
On Monday night, while walking into an awards ceremony in New York, Senator Clinton was asked if she would consider taking a post in the Obama administration. She replied, “I am happy being a Senator from New York, I love this state and this city. I am looking at the long list of things I have to catch up on and do. But I want to be a good partner and I want to do everything I can to make sure his agenda is going to be successful.
And the press is doing some arithmetic: adding two and two together. In this case, does the answer here come out, in reality, to four — or three? The Chicago Sun Times:
As the press pool following President-elect Barack Obama waited for him to emerge from his Transition Team headquarters in Chicago Thursday afternoon, someone else’s motorcade of three SUVs emerged from the same underground garage.
This development coincides with NBC news quoting two Obama advisors saying that Obama was considering Sen. Hillary Clinton for the position of Secretary of State.
Clinton was seen taking a flight to Chicago Thursday, NBC reported, though that was reportedly for personal business, though it did not preclude the possibility of a meeting between Obama and Clinton, NBC reported.
The Obama campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on whose motorcade preceded Obama’s out of the underground garage beneath the Kluczynski Federal Building Thursday evening.
The Obama campaign could deal with all the speculation quickly: by flatly-denying that Clinton is under speculation for the post.
Instead, it has responded like this:
Senior officials with President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team said late Thursday that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be an asset to the new administration, but declined to confirm reports she was under consideration for secretary of state.
Aides to Clinton had little to say about the news reports, including including one that said she was in Chicago where Obama is holding daily transition planning meetings. Clinton’s office would only say that the New York Democrat and former first lady had no public schedule on Thursday. Her office said any speculation about Cabinet or other administration appointments is for Obama’s transition team to address.
“We’re not going to discuss any meeting he has about appointments,” said Robert Gibbs, a senior Obama aide who is expected to soon be named White House press secretary.
So while Clinton refers it to Obama’s office, Obama’s office said they won’t comment on appointments.
Which suggests her name is on the list. What remains unknown is how seriously she’d consider it.
But, then, she has not totally ruled it out.
Which means — putting on our Sherlock Holmes hat — that it could happen….
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.