Dear Friend and Reader,
AFTER THE RANCOROUSВ presidential primary between Senators Barack Obama andВ Hilary Clinton for the nomination,В one wonders why we’d be watching a Hil-and-Bill show once again as we ponder Obama’s possible appointment of Senator Clinton as Secretary of State?
Utilizing talent from previous administrations to staff a new one is nothing new. In fact, one would not want to approach the Office of the President with its myriad trap doors, secret deals and back-door diplomacy without at least a few people on the team who know where the bodies are buried. And I am certain that the Clintons and people from their administration know a few locations.
The Clintons learned aboutВ the need for having some “graybeards” on boardВ the hard way when Bill Clinton first took office in 1993. Going in as a unified and experienced team can help move your agenda through the already rough terrain of a hostile opposition party or even a recalcitrant party-in-power.
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book “Team of Rivals” on the Lincoln CabinetВ is the current frame of referenceВ on the forming of President-electВ Barack Obama’s new cabinet. Looking at today’s events, Goodwin suggestsВ picking ClintonВ would be similar to Lincoln’s choice of political rival William Seward for the same gig in 1861. “The parallel with Hilary is almost eerie,” Goodwin says.