Look, I was never a Clinton (for president this year) supporter. And I came to hate the way she and Bill muddied up the water in the primary. I felt they wouldn’t acknowledge where the mood was and that the mood called for Barack Obama. But I have to say, it works.
It really works, it is exactly what we (the anxious transition watchers) were looking for. I’ve come across few people in Washington who have been feeling absolutely one candidate fits the bill. John Kerry, very accomplished, endorsed Obama at a crucial time. Bill Richardson, also very accomplished, endorsed Obama at another helpful moment, and is rumored to have a lot of ugly skeletons in his closet. Chuck Hagel, fun to interview for the press, very accomplished, principled, tough and would cross from the right and meet Obama in the middle, usefully. But it still just doesn’t fit perfectly.
Clinton brings bravado, finally in a very good way, starpower (it can intimidate, and awe), a symbolic political healing, especially with white women, and the satisfaction of the so-called Pumas, those stubborn women who felt violated and would not yield to the party’s choice. And she also brings an incisive studiousness, a seriousness and capacity (so they say) to absorb and learn incredibly quickly. And she’s poised, ready (youbetcha!) on day one, and it bears repeating, tough. She’d be a great Secretary of State.
And as I just heard Pat Buchanan envisage, with the challenges on the table in 2009, nobel peace prize could be in her grasp if she shows the extraordinary leadership she might possess. It’s just what she would look for if she were open to the opportunity and able to accept the loss (I think she has, if not Bill as much). She’d also be a good liaison for President Obama to John McCain if he plays a central role in our policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East, and elsewhere. The only drawback I see is that for a Clinton to be Obama’s envoy to the world, does that suggest a Clinton years redux in foreign policy.
Wait, there is one drawback, for it’s for Clinton herself. Taking the job would take her out of political rotation for a while, as Andrea Mitchell put it on Hardball tonight, she wouldn’t be out campaigning for people, collecting chits and so on. And, Chris Matthews rightly noted
She’d be an asset. And I think they both know it. This announcement will be something to see, people. Maybe they’ll cut to Bill wiping a tear from his eye.
Inform Your Consent 