Amid many reports that President Elect Barack Obama is considering his former Democratic nomination rival Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann offer one possible Machiavellian theory of why at First Read:
The best reason for Obama to be looking for a place in his cabinet for Clinton is simple: to get her out of the Senate. Just ask George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter what it was like to have a once or future presidential rival in the Senate serving as a one-person Roman tribunal. Remember how easily the press gravitated to John McCain in ’01 or Bob Kerrey in ’93 or Ted Kennedy in ’77 to allow them to be one-senator judge/juries on Administration proposals?
The upside for Obama putting Clinton at State (or even the Pentagon) is that it gets her out of the Senate and gets her out of the domestic policy debates. Also, one other thing to keep in mind if Clinton does end up at State, she’ll be off the political circuit; it’s considered unseemly to practice politics while serving in one of the big cabinet posts, especially at State or Defense. So this would mean no more Hillary on the stump for candidates, no more Hillary raising money, no more Hillary collecting chits.
That could be part of it, but the other part most assuredly is that Clinton came out of the primaries with her reputation advanced as a political figure so that she became the real powerhouse of the Clinton couple. She was praised by people of both parties (often out of election 2008 strategical political interest, to be sure) and considered someone who had consolidated a loyal constituency.
Clinton would be an exciting choice as Secretary of State and be considered a serious and solid one. So if you accept First Read’s theory you don’t have to reject the fact that Clinton would be a solid and popular choice and be well-received in many parts of the world. PLUS: Obama would know he’d have someone in the State Department who is independent minded and would give him uninhibited reaction and if necessary blunt policy advice.
UPDATE: It’s worth adding this quote and subquote from the ever-compelling The Politico:
It is not known what Obama himself thinks of the idea. But the fact that it is being entertained within his camp shows how much things have changed in the months since he defeated her for the Democratic nomination in a protracted primary marathon.
A possible clue to Obama’s willingness to consider Clinton for chief diplomat can be found in a January interview he gave to Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News.” As part of her “Primary Questions” series, she asked him what books besides the Bible he would considers essential if he were elected president.
“Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book ‘Team of Rivals,’” Obama replied. “It was a biography of Lincoln. And she talks about Lincoln’s capacity to bring opponents of his and people who have run against him in his cabinet. And he was confident enough to be willing to have these dissenting voices and confident enough to listen to the American people and push them outside of their comfort zone. And I think that part of what I want to do as president is push Americans a little bit outside of their comfort zone. It’s a remarkable study in leadership.”
This also would seem to help put into context Obama’s reported plans to meet the man he defeated for the White House, GOPer Sen. John McCain for what sounds like more than a pro forma for-the-cameras meeting.
UPDATE II: A Democratic source has now confirmed to the AP that Obama met Clinton in Chicago.
President-elect Barack Obama has met in Chicago with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is under consideration for secretary of state.
A Democratic official says the two former presidential rivals met Thursday afternoon in Obama’s downtown office. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to release the information.
The motorcade of Clinton, who receives Secret Service protection as a former first lady, was seen leaving the office complex shortly before Obama left for the day. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines would say only “Senator Clinton had no public schedule yesterday.”
Unless Clinton just HAPPENED to be in Chicago to visit relatives or due to a craving for Chicago deep -ish pizza or a hot dog this report has to raise eyebrows.
UPDATE III: Steve Clemons had an item on this earlier than anyone else, but pulled it and sees parallels with how George Bush treated one of his perceived rivals. DETAILS HERE.
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.