Remember when I said that offering Hillary the Secretary of State post was a trick designed to get her out of the Senate? Remember when I said that this would be a replay of the Nixon arrangement of power, with Hillary playing the (powerless) William Rogers role and Jim Jones playing the (powerful) Henry Kissinger role? Remember when some people laughed at this prediction?
Neener neener neener!
8 comments:
I was also against Hillary leaving the Senate. I simply do not trust Obama or most of the people in his administration. Obama is still the egotistical narcissist who doesn't want Hillary to ever overshadow him in any way. What do you think this means for Hillary now? One of my friends thinks this is the end of Hillary's political career. I think she was better off in the Senate working on health care even if Kennedy wants to take the credit for anything accomplished in that area before he dies.
I wonder if Obama's plan was to get Hillary out of the Senate and then force her to resign from SoS for some reason or other. Voila! Hillary out of power.
It really is all about who controls the president's ear. Supposedly, Hillary negotiated the ability to speak directly with Obama concerning policy at any time. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean anything if he doesn't give her ideas the merit they deserve and listens to someone else. I'd like to see him listen to everyone and then make a decision but he'll most likely lean on someone he trusts explicitly. Hope that is Hillary. W's big failure of foreign policy is that Chaney controlled the flow o information to Bush and manipulated him into doing what he wanted done. I think Obama shares the same traits that W has and will fall into the same trap. Like I said elsewhere ignorance and narcissim are a lethal combination when it comes to governance. The only thing that makes me feel upbeat about the situation is that I like both Hillary's and Jones' viewpoints concerning foreign policy. Gates has been about the most competent Bush guy ever. At least Obama could get diverse viewpoints and multiple strategy options from these folks. But does any sane person believe that Obama will be willing to listen to anyone else? I think this is an impending disaster of epic proportions.
If Hillary leaves the post, it sends a very dark message to the diplomatic community of the world. Obama has no personal credibility and I can't image leaders of other nations are impressed with what they see - though they are confident he is an improvement over Bush. That's sorta like saying Nero was an improvement over Caligula. Too bad we didn't have Claudius in between. I'm sure they will back her into the corner to some degree but she is no Colin Powell. She's a power in her own right with international credibility. If he doesn't deliver on his half of the bargain, then there will be a price to pay. The international diplomatic community will not happy if she walks. She's the known quantity of the two.
As for healthcare, I think she knows it's slated for failure - I don't think Obama has any interest in promoting anything that is bad for the bottom line of the insurance companies. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.
Yeah, those poor trusting Clintons and their equally naive legal team--not to mention the turnip truck they all just fell off of.
And Fred Kaplan? Seriously, Fred f**king KAPLAN??
When Barry invited Hillary to the mic it looked to me like they wanted to embrace or kiss - I think they're like that, Barry definitely so (damn fine homelearnin'), he likes to touch and be close to you. General Jones was extraordinary very early in his life. Hillary had equal (at least) promise once, but she only just became extraordinary, surprising herself more than anyone. It was a better primary campaign in hindsight than it was in real time. Look at them and try to remember: Obama, Clinton, Biden, soon Richardson - we were exultant seeing them at the debates, such a good crop at long last. And now we have them in power! Maybe Dennis can be Ambassador To Area 51, maybe he's an understudy in case someone doesn't get confirmed. Maybe he'll be nominated to the Supreme Court. Gates I'll pretend was part of the 'impeachment is off the table' deal when the Dems won back Congress and Rumsfeld had to go.
So you and the guy from Slate that wrote the article are on the same page. Big deal!!! Doesn't make either of you right. Hillary knows foreign policy turf and she has a former president in her back pocket. She will be more than ready for any games Jones might play with the intent of marginalizing her. She knows from palace intrigue. Notice she isn't resigning her Senate seat until she's confirmed.
Anon@5:18
I agree with you. Just because some guy at Slate is writing the same thing, and note, his is an exultant tone of the artcle: "Don't worry boyz, she'll be toothless!"
Like Lori and LandOfLincoln, I'm not worried at all about Hillary. She can hold her own, and she's not without her own skills.
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