Clinton as Secretary of State

An NBC report published today claims that President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State after Thanksgiving. According to the report, Clinton will not reject the offer, meaning she will have to relinquish her her position as New York Senator. The report points out the underlying view of some Democrats, government insiders, as well as the general public, that Clinton is too independent and politically ambitious to work effectively with Obama as Secretary of State. They also allude to many Democrats', including Obama, admiration of Clinton's talent and experience.

Clinton may be ambitious, but so is Obama, so is every politician that seeks to become president. Aside from that, what this gives the Democrats right now is the two most influential politicians working together in the White House. If Clinton does indeed take the nomination, it forms a very formidable cabinet, at least from the image perspective. If they stay together, it will be difficult for the Republican party to mount for serious contention in the next election, if it wasn't already hard enough for them.

Obama's move is smart for two reasons. First, the Hillary Clinton supporters who so desperately wanted a woman president were once again disappointed when Obama decided to pass on nominating her for the Vice Presidential position. Nominating her for Secretary of State would have possibly been the next best position to nominate her for. The Clinton supporters will at least be happy to see her in such a high position. Second, this move will hopefully temporarily stunt Clinton's great ambition to become president, until Obama two terms are over. It doesn't usually happen that someone from the same party challenges the existing president in the primaries, it is not a popular move. However, if anyone could pull it off, it would certainly be Hillary Clinton especially after she made it this close to the presidency. This move might allow for her to step back on the political ambition until Obama is finished. Or she could break off regardless of how Obama does in his first term and challenge him in 2012. But it would be an all or nothing move. If she wins, she will have pulled off the first victory over an incumbent of the same party. But if she loses, it could resonate poorly within the Democratic community and greatly affect her chances if she would ever want to run again, say in 2016 which she very possibly could win.