I’m Not The Only One

Star power and connections can get you a lot of things, even jobs you’re barely qualified for.

Right now, President-elect Barack Obama is deciding whether to appoint either Governor Bill Richardson or Senator Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State.

Bill Richardson’s massive foreign policy and diplomacy experience is critical in a time when America needs to mend many fences among the international community.  During the Clinton administration, Richardson was appointed as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.  Even as Congressman in his home state of New Mexico, Richardson was tapped by President Clinton to lead various diplomatic missions.

I feel that Bill Richardson can not only fix the problem in Iraq, but could’ve been used to have prevented an invasion in the first place.  He has extensive experience negotiating with dictators. In 1995, North Korea shot down a U.S. helicopter that had accidentally strayed into North Korean airspace. Only one of the two soldiers in that chopper crash survived, and then-President Bill Clinton asked then-Congressman Richardson to negotiate for the release of the surviving soldier and the remains of the other one. Richardson was successful in negotiating with the North Korean dictator, just as he was successful in convincing Saddam Hussein in 1996 to release two American oil workers who had wandered over the Kuwait border into Iraq.

Hmmmm…..an American with whom Saddam Hussein had prior experience negotiating? That sounds like someone we could’ve used back in 2002 when Hussein refused to let UN inspectors look for those WMDs. Perhaps this whole invasion business could’ve been avoided, with many lives spared and billions in tax dollars put to better use right here in the U.S. I also like Richardson because he is the most vocal supporter of pulling out all U.S. troops from Iraq immediately. In fact, he states on his campaign site that the stabilization of Iraq cannot possibly begin until the last American soldier leaves. Few other Democratic Presidential candidates have called for the immediate withdrawal of troops, especially not pro-war Hillary Clinton.  Long story short, Richardson is just the right-hand man Obama needs to make good on his campaign promise of total withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

What are Hillary Clinton’s diplomatic credentials?  Anyone?  (crickets chirping)

Despite rigorous Google searches for news on Obama’s Secretary of State pick, I can find no such reasons to pick Hillary except for political.  Reporters tout the political strategy involved in selecting Hillary to be Obama’s Secretary of State:

Being secretary of state could give Clinton a platform for another run at the presidency in eight years. Obama could also get assurances from her that she wouldn’t challenge him in four years. -”Obama weighs Clinton, Richardson as sec. of state” AP

Pundits dodge the issue of Hillary’s complete lack of foreign policy and diplomatic credential by instead focusing her obvious connection to husband Bill:

Bill Clinton could also be, if tasked correctly, a tremendous asset to Obama, observers say. A renowned diplomat with perhaps the thickest rolodex of officials around the world, the former president could at once help amplify the White House message while serving as a friendly buffer should there be a fissure between Obama and another international leader.-Sam Stein, Huffington Post

Wow, maybe Obama should pick Bill Clinton to be Secretary of State, since he sounds as qualified as if not more qualified than Bill Richardson.  Being the wife of a qualified candidate is not the same as being said qualified candidate.  Hasn’t Hillary hung onto Bill’s coattails long enough?  First to being elected Senator of a state she barely lived in before campaigning and then to the Presidential Democratic Primary by people who loved the legacy of peace and prosperity left by her husband’s administration.

Hillary supporter Madeline Kunin of the Huffington Post offered the following reasons for Obama to select the Senator as Secretary of State:

• He respects her intelligence and grit.
• It is better to have her on the inside than on the outside, in keeping with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s portrait of Lincoln in “A Team of Rivals.”
• She deserves it, having been the good soldier and campaigned for him vigorously in the last two months.
• Her supporters continue to care passionately about her and expect her to be elevated to top position

I’m sorry, but Madeline’s “reasons” are not good enough.  None of those reasons involve any mention of a foreign policy or diplomatic background.  as for being a “good soldier”, Hillary came very close to preventing Obama from achieving the historic milestone of being elected President, plus she demands Obama pay most of her campaign debt, much of which was spent bashing Obama and reproducing photos of our President-elect in a turban. Does Hillary’s foreign policy background consist of her being able to see Canada from her house?  Basically, Madeline is telling her readers, “I love Hillary, and so do lots of other people, therefore she should be appointed to the highest cabinet position possible.”  This is not American Idol; this is the cabinet of the President of the United States.  You want bullshit political appointments?  Try our current Presidential administration.

Out of the nine currently serving Supreme Court judges, only two of them have been appointed by a Democrat President.  Wouldn’t a hardcore liberal like Hillary better serve to balance out that conservative majority?  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg must be lonely being the only woman in that elite group.

So Hillary should head the State Department simply because she deserves it?  Hey, I like to think I deserve a 12-inch penis and a full head of hair; doesn’t mean I’m going to get it.

Ken Silverstein of Harpers Magazine offered five good reasons why Hillary Clinton should not be appointed to Secretary of State:

1. Hillary Clinton will have her own agenda (as will her husband). She’s not a team player and will bring in a crew of cronies whose chief aim will be to promote the boss, not the administration. Obama may wake up one day and discover that Hillary has decreed a new “Clinton Doctrine” of foreign policy.
2. It would be impossible, politically, to fire Hillary. No matter what she says or does, or how insubordinate, Obama will be stuck with her as long as she wants to stay.
3. Her husband is a walking conflict of interest. Bill helps a Canadian businessman land a uranium contract in Kazakhstan, and soon afterwards the businessman contributes to the Clinton Foundation. Bill’s personal and business dealings are embarrassing enough without Hillary heading the State Department.
4. The Clinton style of management–for example, pitting one faction of staff against another–would be a disaster at the State Department. Just look at how well it worked on the campaign trail.
5. And the strongest strike of all against Hillary as secretary of state… look at who endorses her.

I know most Presidential appointments are supposed to be political in nature, but this not a time for politics as usual; it’s time to pick the most qualified person for the job.  Appointing the most second most popular figure in the Democratic Party is not something I’d expect from a candidate of change.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 3:31 am and is filed under Barack Obama, Media, Jokes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.