If you are an outside observer of the American Political Machine and just saw a snippet of a headline here or there, you would probably think that President-Elect Barack Obama was in a great deal of trouble. After all, people don't like his choice of Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, White House Council and Attorney General. There is also a great deal of criticism of him for wanting to help out the domestic automakers; GM, Chrysler and Ford. To top it all off, this morning there is new criticism about his plans to push forward on environmental policy. All of this before he has even taken the oath of office.
Well, I have some sound advice to anyone: Take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For all that is written about the "liberal" bias of the media, I am hard pressed to find any. In fact, I am pretty sure there is a "conservative" bias in the media. I turn on the morning news shows and all I hear are criticisms of every single appointment this man has made. I forget where I heard it this morning, but someone said that he is sending the wrong message by making these appointments. He is just following politics as usual. Well, I have a few words for these people: Get a life!
My biggest complaint comes from the anticipation of the announcement that Senator Hillary Clinton may be made Secretary of State. You would think the world was coming to an end. "How can he do this?" "What is he thinking?" "Why would he bring her on board?" "It is drawing too much attention away from him." "Bill is a problem." Well, let's take a look at something, shall we? Now, I don't even begin to understand how President-Elect Obama thinks, nor do I make any claims of knowing him personally (though I have gotten many text messages from him over the course of the campaign). But, I can assume that the decisions he is making are ones he sees as in the best interest of the country.
After eight years of someone giving cushy jobs to his cronies, it is nice to see someone actually making choices that are for the betterment of this nation. I believe that Senator Hillary Clinton would be an amazing choice for Secretary of State. Let's look at it this way: What other person in Washington has the kind of connections that Senator Clinton has? She has been in Washington since 1992 and has met scores of leaders and been to scores more countries. She is refined and I know that she would only have the best interests of this nation in mind when dealing with other world leaders.
Yes, pulling her out of the Senate does take a voice of opposition away from the President-Elect; however, it also puts that voice of opposition in the White House. It gives the Senator from New York a chance to really affect policy and a new direction for foreign affairs. President Bush is known to have surrounded himself with sycophants who grovel at his feet. How refreshing would it be to have a President who encourages an intelligent discourse of how to handle Iran, instead of just bombing them?
There may be a point when a Secretary Clinton says that the United States should invade Iran and President Obama asks why, he is not inclined to. Having that discussion (though I pray that it would never happen) is much more important than riding shotgun and screaming "yeehaw" around the beltway firing six-shooters and wearing a ten gallon hat. If President-Elect Obama is to have an informed opinion about the world and negotiate with our adversaries, then he is going to need someone who is going to be tough and ask the tough questions. Senator Hillary Clinton will do that.
Finally, I am sure there is one more thing that is probably weighing on the Junior Senator from New York's mind: She could have the chance to negotiate a Mideast Peace deal that eluded her husband. Not that I believe she and her husband are in a competition, but somehow I believe the crowning achievement for a Secretary Clinton would be to have that peace deal between Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the rest of the Arab world. It would also be a defining moment in an Obama administration. Now that is something no one can criticize.
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