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The End Of The State Drama Near?

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:02:53 AM EST
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Politico, after reporting in quite conflicting fashion for the past few days, now posts a story bylined by two of the main purveyors of the "trouble in Obama/Clinton Land" storylines that flatly states:

Negotiations between the Clintons and President-elect Obama’s transition team are rapidly moving toward a formal offer of secretary of State for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), with both sides expecting a formal announcement in the next seven days, according to numerous officials who are involved.

Who knows if this is true but I think it is.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

< Pass The Colombian Free Trade Pact . . . . Next Year | Daschle at HHS >

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    The End Of The State Drama Near? | 56 comments (56 topical)

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    One rumor I hope is true (5.00 / 6) (#1)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:05:42 AM EST
    "Some insiders say the backup nominee would be Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass)."

    No Richardson please.

    heh (5.00 / 4) (#5)
    by Salo on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:12:53 AM EST
    I was thinking about his resume.  It occurred to me that face to face negotiations between states are actually kabuki.  The heads of state or SoS's already know what will happen so the face time is simple theatre. The lower level negotiators are simply puppets manipulated by the exclusive 3-5 member War Cabinet (containing the President/PM defense secretary/minister, SoS and NSA/grand vizier type.) and the rest is just bollox--which is where richardson's resume comes in.  That guy doesn't have the spark of authority that he'd need as a real plenipotentiary. He's an underling.

    Parent
    said this a few days back (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Fabian on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:48:11 PM EST
    that the SoS actually is the head wheeler-dealer & negotiator and the official meet-and-greets between heads of state are mostly about the official stamp of approval.

    It should be obvious that the Prez can't hammer out every detail with every agreement with every country.  That's the SoS's job.

    Parent

    It's a Done Deal (5.00 / 6) (#12)
    by Pepe on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:22:48 AM EST
    If the offer to Clinton and all that has been reported, including the vetting of Bill and his foundation donors, were not true then both Obama and Clinton would have denied it days ago.

    In addition when asked directly about it by reporter on Tuesday Clinton said: "I've said everything I have to say on Friday,". No denial there.

    The offer is there without a doubt so why doubt it any further? At this point it is silly for anyone to speculate whether the offer was made and they are in the process of due diligence.

    As for Bill Clinton he should have no problem whatsoever being vetted with his dealings because if Poppy "Carlyle Group" Bush did not impeded Junior then Bill won't impede Hillary.

    The only thing that may keep Hillary from accepting is Hillary herself if she decides she wants to remain a Senator instead. And I am sure that is something going through her mind and is a tough decision for her to make.

    Either way I will respect her decision.

    Parent

    Carville marked Richardson for life (5.00 / 3) (#37)
    by Stellaaa on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 02:27:46 PM EST
    No matter what he does now, no politician can ever trust him to be loyal.  Loyalty is the quality a president elect looks for now.  And like BTD says, Obama, will prove that he is a good pol, will not get near damaged goods.   If they betray once, they will do it again.  Few people have the Hillary loyalty this day in age.  

    Parent
    Uh Oh Stellaaa (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:08:53 PM EST
    sounds to me like more than Carville has marked Richardson as a low down dog for life in Talkleft threads :)

    Parent
    I love it when she speaks (5.00 / 2) (#45)
    by oculus on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:13:25 PM EST
    her mind!

    Parent
    No, Richardson marked (5.00 / 5) (#54)
    by BackFromOhio on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 05:25:51 PM EST
    Richardson for life.  Carville merely pointed this out.

    Parent
    Damaged goods (none / 0) (#55)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 09:20:14 PM EST
    Er, you mean like Lieberman?


    Parent
    Reports are (none / 0) (#2)
    by dk on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:08:54 AM EST
    out that Kerry is being given Chair of Foreign Relations, with an announcement imminent.  I would think this means that everything has more or less been settled.

    Parent
    Too bad--Russ was next in line. (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by andgarden on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:09:31 AM EST


    Parent
    that is indeed good news (none / 0) (#49)
    by ruffian on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:43:06 PM EST
    Richardson is simply not equipped to handle the competition for status with the Defense Department.

    Also, wouldn't Teresa make a great SOS wife? all in all Kerry would be the best alternative to Clinton.

    Parent

    Daschle gets HHS (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:12:35 AM EST
    attributed on CNN to "sources," but they're reporting it as definitive.
    I don't want him anywhere (5.00 / 5) (#6)
    by andgarden on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:13:47 AM EST
    ugh

    Parent
    Oh (5.00 / 6) (#7)
    by Salo on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:14:16 AM EST
    Brave brave sir Daschle.

    Parent
    ROFLMAO! (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:15:39 AM EST


    Parent
    Who personally wet himself (5.00 / 5) (#16)
    by Landulph on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:39:48 AM EST
    when Zell Miller said "boo".

    Parent
    Heh (5.00 / 14) (#8)
    by Steve M on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:14:41 AM EST
    Let's see how much attention the blogs pay to the fact that Daschle's wife is a lobbyist.  "Will Mrs. Daschle Sink The Deal???"  I can just see the breathless headlines.

    Parent
    So, when does the vetting (5.00 / 11) (#10)
    by dk on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:16:00 AM EST
    of Daschle's wife begin?  I assume everyone who is so concerned about Bill Clinton will be leading the charge, right?  

    Parent
    Roll Call is reporting the same thing (none / 0) (#11)
    by byteb on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:18:10 AM EST


    Parent
    Gosh, I hope Kos doesn't choose to issue (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:28:14 AM EST
    an ultimatum on the subject!

    I hope so. (none / 0) (#15)
    by LarryInNYC on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:36:27 AM EST
    They'd probably make her Secretary of State for life.

    Parent
    Military Tracy has it right: oh, the drama. (5.00 / 3) (#17)
    by oculus on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:48:52 AM EST
    Seven days?  

    Seven days and nights. (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by lilburro on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:01:38 PM EST


    Parent
    Is this better or worse than (5.00 / 2) (#19)
    by oculus on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:21:13 PM EST
    Palinphobia?

    Parent
    Although the new subject (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by oculus on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 02:47:49 PM EST
    de jour seems to be the apology by the female who contributed to Spitzer's downfall.

    Parent
    Hmmmm, been doing Joshua stuff all day (none / 0) (#44)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:11:11 PM EST
    and this IS interesting.  I'll have to go check this out.

    Parent
    Well worth reading up on (none / 0) (#47)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:19:45 PM EST
    a very human story about the human condition that ends like many ordeals in our own lives do.

    Parent
    Wow I missed all this! (none / 0) (#53)
    by lilburro on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 05:21:12 PM EST
    I found myself drifting to Britney's new documentary though.

    Does she have anything to say?  So far seems pretty boring to me.

    Parent

    I called Hillary's DC office Monday and was told (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by jawbone on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:40:33 PM EST
    by person answering the phone that they could not pass on my request that Hillary remain in the Senate since everything connected with the transition must come from the Obama transition team and they could not legally talk about anything connected with the transition.

    I said my request had nothing to do with what Obama was goind to do, but was my expression of a deeply held feeling that she could do more for people as a strong senator from NY. Got essentially same gobbledygook reply.

    Total BS, imho, but I took it to mean that Hillary is not going to remain in the Senate.

    I'm disappointed and sad about that.

    Now, hearing that Daschle will have HHS? Sheesh.

    Maybe (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:54:26 PM EST
    Maybe the 7 day delay is so they can station bomb squads at each of the blogosphere owner's homes -- for the exploding heads.

    The exploding heads are the only aspect I'll like about Hillary as SOS.

    Josh can't stop himself (5.00 / 3) (#24)
    by ding7777 on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:06:15 PM EST
    during her time on the national stage Sen. Clinton has been at the helm in two big undertakings -- had two big executive leadership tasks. One was health care in 1994 and the other was her presidential bid in 2007-08. Each was something of a trianwreck from an executive-level management perspective.

    if Josh really believes that, then what does Josh think of Obama's executive leadership for asking Hillary to be SOS?

    Jackarse. (5.00 / 8) (#25)
    by rooge04 on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:08:42 PM EST
    What a dope he is.  And Hillary taking SoS makes me happy if only because these fools will have to play WORM and accept Obama's decision. That's why they voted for him correct? His great judgment? His judgment is that Hillary is the best SoS. Eat it, Marshall, Markos etc.

    Parent
    So hers was a completely failed (5.00 / 2) (#26)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:10:48 PM EST
    candidacy? Who knew!
    Furthermore, I don't think any intelligent person would actually ascribe her failure in 1994 to her executive leadership. In fact, that was entirely irrelevant.

    Parent
    Pretty Bad Indeed (none / 0) (#33)
    by squeaky on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:48:05 PM EST
    Mark Penn. He blew it, or should I say she blew it by hiring him.

    Parent
    You know, you'd say Obama blew it (none / 0) (#35)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 02:09:21 PM EST
    by hiring Axelrod if he lost. This was a very close primary. Hillary ran a great campaign.


    Parent
    No (none / 0) (#36)
    by squeaky on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 02:13:09 PM EST
    I would not say that about Axelrod if Obama lost. Obama would have lost were it not for Penn, imo, despite Axelrod doing an excellent job.

    Parent
    Obama won because the game was (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 02:49:56 PM EST
    rigged at two key moments, not because he ran a better campaign. Axelrod and Penn were not relevant.

    Parent
    OK We Disagree (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by squeaky on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:04:20 PM EST


    Parent
    I never saw any polling which (none / 0) (#41)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:07:04 PM EST
    indicated that Penn, with his public buffoonery, was having an impact on Hillary's campaign.
    Nor can I say that he was ineffective, considering how well she did. Campaign spokesmen are notoriously unlikeable people---including the odious Axelrod.


    Parent
    Hillary Flourished (5.00 / 2) (#43)
    by squeaky on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:10:04 PM EST
    And became herself, once she fired Penn. Her popularity went up markedly, too bad it was too late.

    Parent
    Hillary has done (5.00 / 2) (#27)
    by WS on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:14:52 PM EST
    a lot more than that.  

    Hillary's political career has a really scrappy quality and a real "when at first you don't succeed, try again" message.  She worked to get SCHIP passed in her husband's second term after the UHC push failed and she's now going to become SoS after her Presidential run.  

    With all her accomplishments, she will then be positioned to go after the biggest prize of all...

    Parent

    Finding the Higgs boson? Do you (none / 0) (#28)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:18:07 PM EST
    really think she can do that, at her age?

    Parent
    I think she can (5.00 / 2) (#29)
    by WS on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:26:20 PM EST
    Ronald Reagan got elected at that age (he was almost 70 when elected - Hillary will be almost a year younger) and that was in 1980.  Other candidates can, of course, run but if Hill wants to, why not?

    In today's NYT, the article stated that a Cabinet appointment does not preclude a future Presidential run.  I think she's keeping her options open because 8 years is a long time, but it would require a successful Obama Presidency.  

    Parent

    Yes, I think (5.00 / 3) (#31)
    by JThomas on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:37:41 PM EST
    Hillary would still have a wide range of opportunities before her if she took this job.

    I hope she does a great job for America in her new position if it happens.

    Parent

    what's a "trianwreck" Josh? (5.00 / 3) (#30)
    by DFLer on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:34:46 PM EST
    An unedited and unreviewed post...sign of hasty writing and sloppy thinking.

    Parent
    a small town in the republic of ireland? (5.00 / 4) (#32)
    by Salo on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:40:35 PM EST


    Parent
    As opposed to... (5.00 / 4) (#34)
    by Shawn on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:50:33 PM EST
    the brilliantly-managed Kerry and Richardson campaigns?

    Parent
    Exactly (none / 0) (#50)
    by ruffian on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 04:02:14 PM EST
    Obama has no obligation to all to pick her for SOS.  He must really think she is the best one for the job.

    Parent
    If only Josh Marshall were POTUS (5.00 / 1) (#52)
    by kempis on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 05:10:04 PM EST
    He'd have the good judgment to save us from Teh Evil Hillary.

    ...Seriously. Doesn't he understand that he's essentially dissing Obama's judgment? Does he care?

    Aren't a lot of these bloggers just like kids playing with dolls?

    Josh's Obama doll during the primaries: Change! Hope! Vote for me! DLC sucks! Hillary is mean! I'm nice! Yes, we can!

    Josh makes sounds of a crowd's roaring approval.

    Josh's Obama doll on Election Day:     Yes, we did! The DLC is dead! The evil witch Hillary is dead! I'm the President! Yay!

    Josh's Obama doll post-Election Day: And my chief-of-staff is Rahm Emmanuel.

    Josh: But, Obama...he's DLC. Oh wait! He's also from Chicago. COOL! Good choice!

    Josh's Obama doll: And my Secretary of State will be Hillary Clinton!

    Josh: WTF?!?

    Obama doll: Hillary Clinton.

    Josh: No!!!

    Obama doll: Yes.

    Josh spanks Obama doll, who doesn't give a damn.

    Parent

    Explosions have already started (5.00 / 2) (#46)
    by DancingOpossum on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:14:20 PM EST
    The exploding heads are the only aspect I'll like about Hillary as SOS.

    It will be the most amusing part of it, certainly. It's already starting, too, although it's disguised as "concern" about Bill and his evil, horrible, not so good, charitable work. I think if Hillary does accept the job, Obama may have to deliver a nationally televised "Historic Speech on CDS" to calm down his more, em, fervent supporters.

    So what if she turns it down? (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by Saul on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 03:20:42 PM EST
    How will she be looked at if does turn it down.  

    I can just see the criticism if she does turn it down.  

    If she turns it down . . . (none / 0) (#51)
    by nycstray on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 04:21:24 PM EST
    popcorn and beer all around. Should be quite an amusing show  {grin}

    Parent
    Mike Allen (none / 0) (#14)
    by Exeter on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:35:07 AM EST
    has turned into a gossip columnist.  

    Yahoo/Politico article (none / 0) (#23)
    by WS on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 01:04:39 PM EST
    headline says "Vetting Rapidly Moving Toward Secretary of State offer for Clinton." :)

    But when you click on the article, it just goes to the Politico article that BTD posted earlier.  

    I like the Yahoo headline better.  

    Shrewd move by Obama (none / 0) (#56)
    by diogenes on Thu Nov 20, 2008 at 01:00:11 PM EST
    As a senator, Hillary in 2-4 years would push herself to be majority leder and torment Obama the way that majority leaders in NY torment the governor.  At State she either does a good job which reflects well on him or gets burned out by the Israel/PalestineIran/Iraq/Afghanistan/Somali pirates/Russian missle problems of the world and decides to leave after one term.  There is no real evidence that Hillary is more qualified as aq diplomat than Condoleeza Rice, who got burned out in the same way by these insoluble problems.
    Hillary would do much better to hold out for the first available supreme court seat-easy work, office for twenty years, chance to postulate on all social issues.

    The End Of The State Drama Near? | 56 comments (56 topical)

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