According to the Daily News Washington Bureau Chief, tt may seem improbable given their bitter primary history, but handing his State Department to Hillary Clinton could do President-elect Obama a world of good.
By joining forces with a onetime adversary, Obama would embellish his leadership credentials by coming across as magnanimous, confident and secure.
As a political rock star in her own right, Clinton would bring added heft to Foggy Bottom – particularly in world capitals, where she’s well-regarded after 16 years of globetrotting as a First Lady and senator.
That’s no small asset for a President new to the geopolitical scene but determined to rebuild bridges he believes George W. Bush burned with friend and foe alike.
“She would add even more gravitas and substance to the administration,” a veteran Democratic official said. “She knows everybody and she knows the issues. She’d be very, very well-received around the world.”
From a purely Machiavellian standpoint, Obama would also deftly neutralize a potential power rival in the Senate.
Clinton campaigned tirelessly for Obama after being embarrassed by the first-term senator, collecting plaudits from the winner for behaving like a grownup for the team.
Yet her ambition, while momentarily sidetracked, remains unquenched. As a senator, Clinton would be free to press her agenda, and Obama couldn’t really control her. As secretary of state, she’d answer to him.
As Lyndon Johson once famously observed, it’s always better to have an antagonist inside the tent than outside lobbing in stink bombs.
Most of all, enlisting Clinton would demonstrate Obama’s self-assurance. Some Presidents surround themselves with sycophants, cronies and lightweights. Others, like Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt, are savvy enough to hire subordinates as smart and accomplished as they are – or more so.
It’s well-known that Obama is intrigued with “Team of Rivals,” historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s account of Abraham Lincoln’s decision to name his three fiercest foes for the 1860 GOP presidential nomination as secretaries of state and treasury and attorney general.
The potential parallel between the 19th and 21st century politics is fascinating.
“I’m stunned by this,” a Democratic source with close ties to the transition said, “but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s brilliant.”
We are interested in Costa Rica and TicosLand.com to see how this plays out.
Tags: Barack Obama, Costa Rica, hillary clinton, secretary of state
