Obama Set to Name Hillary Clinton Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton speaks at AIPAC Convention
Numerous news sources are reporting that President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Hillary Clinton for secretary of state on Monday. The secretary of state serves as the President’s chief adviser on foreign affairs, and is one of the most influential members of the president’s Cabinet, particularly during a time of war.
Political calculations are typically complex, calculations that involve Clintons infinitely more so, and this prospective nomination is no exception to either rule. First off, given Clinton’s initial support for the Iraq war, it certainly looks like another example of Obama’s preference for center-left, rather than far-left, appointments. It is also almost certainly not coincidental that New York’s governor (David Patterson), who will select her replacement, is a Democrat.
We hesitate to speculate on the personal relationship between Obama and Clinton, but we see this as a win for both sides. Obama is helping re-unite the Democratic party by bring his most significant primary opponent into his government. Also, at the risk of rushing out on a limb, this appointment gives Clinton a path to the presidency, by serving one term as SoS, and then replacing the eminently replaceable Joe Biden as vice president in 2012.
Hillary’s Track Record on Israel
Hillary Clinton kisses Suha Arafat, 1999
We’re also cautiously optimistic about what Jews should expect from Secretary of State Clinton. On the con side, she went on record supporting a Palestinian state in 1998, even before her husband did, and she probably permanently alienated some Israel supporters by kissing Suha Arafat after the latter accused the Israeli government (not in English, for whatever that’s worth) of poisoning the Palestinians water supply. On the other hand, in the U.S. Senate, she has been a consistent and outspoken supporter of Israel in general, and its right to defend itself against both Palestinian and Iranian terrorism in particular.
We suspect that the Clintons’ were disillusioned with Arafat’s intransigence during President Clinton’s last-ditch efforts to complete a peace accord at the end of his term. Realpolitik likely dictates that the process of peace process will continue despite the low likelihood of real successes, but our best guess – especially if we are right about her ultimate political ambitions – is that Senator Clinton’s nomination and actions as SoS are likely to be well-received by at least most members of the Jewish community.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
What I’ve pointed out is that Hillary really has gone beyond pro-forma support of Israel. She has done things like introduce Itamar Marcus on the floor of the Senate and show support for MDA.
The cynic in me says that she did those things because it was politically expedient to do so as Senator from NY. Still she has gone beyond simply voting pro-Israel and joining non-controversial resolutions in support of Israel.
I think it’s reasonable to assume political expedience as the primary motive for all politicians.
I don’t know if I agree with you , Moishe.
Politicians can really surprise you with their lack of cerebral expeditioucity sometimes. I would say that politicians’ mental aptitude is already suspect the moment they choose politics over a real career direction. Being a politician is the closest one can come to living in a real – life soap opera. I mean, once you leave high school.