\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the New York Times<\/em>, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.,\u00a0is going to be Barack Obama\u2019s Secretary of State<\/a>:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The apparent accord between perhaps the two leading figures in the Democratic Party climaxed a week-long drama that riveted the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Mr. Obama\u2019s office told reporters on Thursday that the nomination is \u201con track\u201d but this is the first word from the Clinton camp that she has decided.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s ready,\u201d the confidant said, adding that Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Mr. Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week \u201cwas so general.\u201d The purpose of the follow-up talk, he noted, was not to extract particular concessions but \u201cjust getting comfortable\u201d with the idea of working together.<\/p>\n A second Clinton associate confirmed that her camp believes they have a done deal. Senior Obama advisers said Friday morning that the offer had not been formally accepted and no announcement would be made until after Thanksgiving. But they said they were convinced that the nascent alliance was ready to be sealed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As I said before<\/a>, I think Clinton\u2019s a savvy pick by Obama; Clinton is certainly qualified for the job, and would be perhaps the highest-profile appointment to the position since Woodrow Wilson tapped William Jennings Bryan for the job.<\/p>\n The potential for \u201cdrama\u201d has been far overplayed by the media, which desires nothing more than a return to the good ol\u2019 days of the 1990s, when they could have fun attacking the Clintons and pretending that there were no actual issues worth worrying about. Clinton is a smart politician, and she knows that the quickest way out of the Obama administration is to start freelancing. Will Clinton challenge Obama when it comes to foreign policy? I certainly hope so.\u00a0Obama needs to get differing perspectives from his foreign policy team. Joe Biden will have one position, Hillary Clinton another, and Gen. Jim Jones (ret.), who\u2019s expected to become Obama\u2019s National Security Advisor<\/a>, will stake out still a different position. Good! We got in trouble over the past eight years because we had a president who surrounded himself with sycophants and yes-women who enabled a disastrous and dangerous war. The one obstacle to it<\/a> left after the end of Bush\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n Having a group of heterogeneous advisors is good for the country. And kudos to Obama for realizing that. I feel quite positive about the direction our country will be heading, precisely because Obama does not appear to be so insecure as to need people to support his ego.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 According to the New York Times, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.,\u00a0is going to be Barack Obama\u2019s Secretary of State: Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her … Continue reading