The Final US Election Thread

[Lemur]

I don't understand the Clinton pick, if true. The two biggest organizational challenges she ever faced -- healthcare reform and her Presidential campaign -- were utterly dysfunctional. She has not demonstrated that she can organize a one-person parade without infighting. Sure, the Clinton name has tremendous cachet overseas, but last I heard the State Department was in bad need of rebuilding after the neglect and abuse the Bush administration heaped upon diplomats and diplomacy. Why would Hillary Clinton be the right person to rebuild?

Also, her hubby has gotten into a slew of shady deals around the world. Won't his business shenanigans create a series of conflicts-of-interest for Madame Secretary?

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Trial balloon either by Clintonites and "we want them both" dem supporters who like her still OR by Obama's team trying to learn if he can stiff her without ticking off too many in the party. The current lack of enthusiasm suggests it will not be she.

Do you see him tapping McCain for a slot? SecDef?

[Martok]

Do you see him tapping McCain for a slot? SecDef?

An interesting question, Seamus. I personally would certainly have no objection, as I've long been a fan. Could cause some major head-butting between him and Barack, though, if he were offered (and accepted) the post.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I am most surprised at the lukewarm reception here of Hillary's possible promotion to SecState.


McCain for SecDef would be fantastic. A whopping bipartisan statement for one. And McCain would simply be an excellent SecDef. Some reasons that immediately spring to mind: credibility within his own ranks, no torture, he's usually right about Iraq.
I don't see it happening, but it would be great.

Sure, the Clinton name has tremendous cachet overseas, but last I heard the State Department was in bad need of rebuilding after the neglect and abuse the Bush administration heaped upon diplomats and diplomacy. Why would Hillary Clinton be the right person to rebuild?

She wouldn't be the right person. I think I am the only one abroad who likes Hillary. The name Clinton is remembered fondly, but remembered as a name of the past. Might as well send Carter. The rest of the world just wants to see Obama at the moment. It's Obama this and Obama that. A complete mania. If I were him right now, I'd seize the opportunity to get myself elected God and Eternal Overlord of all Man.

[drone]

I think Obama ought to keep Gates around for a little while at SecDef. He seems qualified and competent, but this might just be my reaction after having Rummy in the spot...

Hillary for State would be a disaster. She and Bill would try to steal the spotlight whenever possible. Pros would include more situations of "sniper dodging" though.

For this libertarian/conservative, Attorney General is the position I'm looking at closely. Justice is in serious need of an overhaul, and OLC need to be both completely exposed and disbanded. Hopefully he picks somebody with at least a vague working knowledge of the Constitution.

[CountArach]

Do you see him tapping McCain for a slot? SecDef?

While I think he is a good man for a job, I would also be hoping a qualified Democrat could be found - it would help the party break out of the mould of being weak on national security and defence. Perhaps Wesley Clark could fit in well there? Love him or hate him, you have to admit he would be qualified.

[Spino]

I don't understand the Clinton pick, if true. The two biggest organizational challenges she ever faced -- healthcare reform and her Presidential campaign -- were utterly dysfunctional. She has not demonstrated that she can organize a one-person parade without infighting. Sure, the Clinton name has tremendous cachet overseas, but last I heard the State Department was in bad need of rebuilding after the neglect and abuse the Bush administration heaped upon diplomats and diplomacy. Why would Hillary Clinton be the right person to rebuild?

Also, her hubby has gotten into a slew of shady deals around the world. Won't his business shenanigans create a series of conflicts-of-interest for Madame Secretary?

Well if you buy into the whole, 'time for change', 'audacity of hope', fresh start, new American era B.S. then Clinton's appointment makes absolutely no sense.

However, if you look at this using a purely political lens then Hillary Clinton's appoinment as Secretary of State makes total sense.

First and foremost it helps ease the pain of Obama's victory. People seem to forget that Obama's whirlwind campaign threw a giant wrench in the grand plans of the Democratic party (as orchestrated by the Clintons). Obama's nomination not only knocked the Democrat's favorite daughter out of the race but it also ran afoul of that same daughter's monstrous political machine. Let us also not forget that Hillary had great difficulty keeping her campaign funded in the latter stages of the primaries. Obama's piles of campaign money isn't enough to dull the pain but an appointment to the most prestigious cabinet position could do wonders to cure what ails Hillary's ego.

Secondly it shows Obama is thinking far enough into the future in that he is lining up his support ducks for when he runs for re-election in 2012. If Obama and his advisors have an eye for matters not related to running for office then they can see the writing on the wall which spells 'ONE TERM PRESIDENT' in big, black, bolded letters. This recession has just begun and things are going to get really nasty. The stock market is still floundering, the credit market is in shambles, massive layoffs have begun and to make an already terrible situation worse a giant question mark hangs over some of the cornerstones of America's shrinking industrial sector. The ill effects of this recession will easily melt through Obama's teflon coating and sticking to him like dried bird droppings as the country enters 2010/2011. Let us also not forget nobody has a clue what our orthodox & unorthodox enemies will do once Obama is sworn in. Some people expect the excrement will hit the fan the moment Obama wraps up his inauguration speech. Obama's team must know this so they are looking to stack the deck now so that it pays off during the next presidential election.

If anything we should be questioning Clinton's sanity if she accepts the appointment. Closely associating with a President who will preside over one of the worst recessions in the country's history as well as one that will inherit the messy situations in Iraq & Afghanistan can only bring bad things to someone who is still adamant about seeking high political office down the road. Hillary should steer clear of Obama in an official capacity and simply keep on being the dutiful Senator from NY until she gets another shot at the brass ring in 2016.

Things are going to get so nasty that I'm confident there is a part of Obama that wishes he had checked his ego and stayed in the Senate for 4-8 years while this thing blows over.

[Crazed Rabbit]

So much for real change:
the Guardian is saying Hillary Clinton will accept.

Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.

CR

[Sasaki Kojiro]

This interview seems quite revealing:

Mr. Obama: Yeah. I’ve been spending a lot of time reading Lincoln. There is a wisdom there and a humility about his approach to government, even before he was president, that I just find very helpful.

Kroft: Put a lot of his political enemies in his cabinet.

Mr. Obama: He did.

Kroft: Is that something you’re considering?

Mr. Obama: Well, I tell you what, I find him a very wise man.

[Lemur]

Well, if they make Hillary Clinton SecState, I seriously hope they've got some managerial talent to back her up, 'cause so far Sen. Clinton has been a disaster at running organizations. Let's just say that the Assistant Secretary had better be sharp as a knife.

[PBI]

Obama "could stop using email".

The paper quotes aides saying that his e-mails, sometimes sent as late as 0100 or 0300, were "generally crisp, properly spelled and free of symbols or emoticons".

I find this somehow reassuring. Whatever kind of president Obama may turn out to be, he is not a LOLer.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Well, if they make Hillary Clinton SecState, I seriously hope they've got some managerial talent to back her up, 'cause so far Sen. Clinton has been a disaster at running organizations. Let's just say that the Assistant Secretary had better be sharp as a knife.

State, even more than most of the other bureacratic monoliths of our government, seems to do what it intends to do without much reference for the SecState.

[drone]

The tubes are safe, convicted felon Ted Stevens has lost his Senate reelection bid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

And apparently Eric Holder will be tapped for Attorney General.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

As a former judge and top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, Holder has extensive experience with the criminal justice system. He is widely known within the city's legal community and for his philanthropic work on behalf of troubled juveniles detained at the Oak Hill facility. In recent years he defended corporations as a partner at the Covington & Burling law firm, and he took an active role in the presidential campaign after befriending Obama at a dinner party.

Over the course of his career, Holder has won praise from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, though his selection is likely to revive questions about his inability to prevent a last-minute pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, who won relief from President Bill Clinton during his final day in office in 2001.