Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

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So Hillary Clinton has decided to resign her Senate post to become the next United States Secretary of State. From Clinton's perspective this make total sense. She had no seniority in the Senate, thus, had little power. As the Secretary of State Clinton will be the 4th most powerful U.S. citizen according to the Presidential Succession list.

The question though, what does this mean for the United States people. One area that Clinton has little experience is in foreign policy and affairs. Considering Clinton's desire to pass a nation health care policy, wouldn't the Secretary of Health and Human Services have been more appropriate? Or will Clinton be able to be successful at restoring the relations of the United States with the rest of the world? More specifically, will Clinton be able to ease strains with Middle Eastern countries?

t r u t h o u t | Sources: Clinton to Accept Secretary of State

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@Theaetetus,

She certainly had a lot of exposure to international affairs and international diplomatic outreaches during her 8 years as first lady. During her 8 years in the senate she has served on the Armed Services Committee and she served as commissioner of the Helsinki Commission (US Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

She's also known worldwide, and she's as tough as they come. So I think she'd be an exceptional person for the job, especially if it comes down to sitting down with diplomats from hostile countries.

Her passion may be health care reform, but honestly very little is going to happen with that as long as the economy is disastrous. And with people around like Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, and Tom Daschle, she's not the only person with towering credentials in that field.

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@Aedes,

Aedes wrote:

She certainly had a lot of exposure to international affairs and international diplomatic outreaches during her 8 years as first lady. During her 8 years in the senate she has served on the Armed Services Committee and she served as commissioner of the Helsinki Commission (US Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

She's also known worldwide, and she's as tough as they come. So I think she'd be an exceptional person for the job, especially if it comes down to sitting down with diplomats from hostile countries.

Her passion may be health care reform, but honestly very little is going to happen with that as long as the economy is disastrous. And with people around like Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, and Tom Daschle, she's not the only person with towering credentials in that field.

Good point on the Health and Human Services. I forgot that Tom Daschle was the nominee for that position already.
FT.com / UK - Obama gives Daschle healthcare role

As first lady Clinton did not do much diplomatic work, but that is pretty much irrelevant considering the people thing Obama is ready to be President considering what experiece he has or does not have. I do not deny that Clinton cannot handle the job, but I think Biden and her role should be switched. It is sad that this was not pondered earlier, but Biden is a better Secretary of State than Clinton, and Clinton a better Vice President. I wonder if Obama had even considered Clinton for a cabinet position a few months back. I feel that if he had, she would be the incoming V.P.

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@Theaetetus,

I think the single solitary reason Clinton wasn't chosen for VP was because of her husband making an ass of himself. In fact he's probably half the reason she didn't get the nomination. Obama just didn't want to have to deal with him having a foot in the door like that. Notice how the one thing that finally opened the door was when Bill acquiesced to vetting the Clinton Foundation. In other words, he was finally no longer acting like he was untouchable.

I think in terms of competence and drive, the order is right. VP has as much or as little responsibility as they choose. But the Secretary of State position is critical, and someone as relentlessly driven as Clinton (and who has waited a LONG time to really achieve what she's capable of) is an outstanding person for such responsibilities.

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@Theaetetus,

Theaetetus wrote:

More specifically, will Clinton be able to ease strains with Middle Eastern countries?

t r u t h o u t | Sources: Clinton to Accept Secretary of State

Has anyone ever eased strains in the middle east? Islam says Ishmail. Israel says Isaac. Come on. She'll do fine. Give her a chance.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

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