Where's Richardson? Is he still breathing? Just curious.

Republic or Empire?

We all just voted for a Republic.

I don't see Hillary taking us back to Empire.

But it ought to sell nicely on Sunday...

Save me Jebus....

Michael O'Hanlon?

Mr. War Cheerleader? Michael "a prominent liberal argues for the invasion" O'Hanlon?

If he's one of those coming along for the ride, that alone is reason to jettison consideration of Clinton.

If there are really any people who want to punish the people who supported Obama, my guess is that they would be doing so at their own peril. Obama and his counselors aren’t stupid or naive. They are making this move with their wide eyes open, and will likely be mindful of protecting their own people.

Many of Obama's potential foreign policy appointees are quite troubling. I'm starting to sense Obama sold us bill of goods just to get elected. As an ardent support of the President-elect, I might regret this comment, but Reverend Jeremiah Wright was correct in labeling Obama just another politician who will do and say whatever it takes to get elected.

O’HANLON: But let’s also be fair. Iraq now seems to be a quasi-functioning democracy, without weapons of mass destruction, without genocides against its own citizens or attacks against its neighbors. So, to some extent, we’ve got to give the president his due.

This Michael O'Hanlon? Seriously?

I think Obama is using Clinton as a suck-all-of-the-air-out-of-the-room distraction while he puts together his intelligence team of torturers with Cheney allegiances.

You know, I don't necessarily dismiss the concern, but I guess that is an easily foreseeable issue. If the Obama side is serious about Hill as SOS I'm sure they already considered this issue in the process and perhaps some solutions are already thought out or some conditions are thrown out in the negotiation, etc...

Else, Hill won't be SOS.

I am completely conflicted on HRC as SOS. Hillary, Bill and their cronies spent half of the primary season assassinating and tearing down Barack Obama's character: he was called naive, dangerous, green and she tried to muscle her way on to the democratic ticket. For the love of god' --why on earth would Obama reward HRC with the SOS position?

OBAMA IS IN CHARGE, NOT HILLARY! OBAMA IS IN CHARGE NOT HILLARY! OBAMA IS IN CHARGE NOT HILLARY! Please write this 100 times on a single-ruled notebook paper until it sticks and stop with these dumb ass articles and these dumb ass conspiracy theories.

I still like the idea of Hillary at SoS but I completely forgot about the O'Hanlon angle. That always worried me back in the primaries - that if she won, he'd probably be her national security adviser. Holbrooke and Rubin, I'm OK with. But O'Hanlon is a tool.

Would Pollack be in the mix as well? Ugh...

Whatever, again, I still think she'd be great at Foggy Bottom. Maybe balance out her team with folks like Power on the NSC (or at the UN). Differing points of view can't hurt, as long as they understand that the final call is Obama's. And something tells me he'll make that very clear.

Oh, God, here we go again... Hillary is a monster, blah-blah-blah...

If Obama is any kind of leader, he won't have any problems here. If he's a chump, we're all screwed anyway - with SoS being the least of our worries.

Relax, children, and trust Obama.

Comments chastising others for openly discussing concerns, thoughts, inclinations, etc. are rather boring. Whats wrong with discussing a hypothetical situation? What's the point of comment boards and discussion otherwise? What's the point of blogs otherwise?

Greg.

Thanks for this post. So far, all the blogs on the pros vs cons of Hillary at State have ignored the realities of how and who will be implementing policies and what they'll be.

For those who don't follow the ins and outs of FP closely, take note of the fact that the Obama team of advisors has been purged of those known to have dangerous ideas (see Robert Malley & Z.Brzezinski) that suggest an approach that differs from the Israel-centric one that determines our approach in regards to the ME. None of the FP advisors in Hillary's camp have raised any "concerns" whatsoever.

The Ackerman article points to the fears of some Obama that the failing status quo will prevail, no matter that it bears little relevence to the rapidly changing facts-on-the-ground in the ME. Distorted American FP policy realities are so deeply embeded within the FP establishment and Congress that even slight adjustments are fought hard, particularly if they suggest approaches that divert from what some have determined are in the best interests of Israel; even if Israelis like Olmert disagree.

I've seen nothing concrete from the Obama camp that suggests current idiocies (preconditions) will be discarded, despite the fact that our allies in Europe are departing from constipated US assumptions and reshaping their relationships with countries like Syria and Lebanon in order to promote stabilization in the region.

The toothpaste is already out of the tube in the ME, the I/P conflict excluded, and if Hillary and her crew are enlisted in an effort to push it back in, I wish them nothing but ill.

This Obama supporter does not believe in blind cheerleading based on allegiance to him or anyone else espousing the continuance of wrongheaded policies.

We haven't been mentioning any of the other specific political appointments at State, and who might be in line for them -- and most important, what these actually do.

Most importent, the Deputy Secretary, who runs the department on a day to day basis. SoS is largely an "Outside" job, Dep. Secretary keeps the Department moving. So Who???

I assume that Obama will use his power to appoint ambassadors from outside the Senior Foreign Service ranks -- frequently given to those who strongly supported (financially) a candidate. Posts such as Paris, London, Mexico City, Canada, these are typical political patronage postings. I seriously doubt if Hillary will be naming these.

Other Deputy Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries probably will come, at least in part, out of Obama's advisor circle to the extent that they can take administrative leadership positions. For instance, will Sam Nunn be Deputy for Arms Control? He is an Obama man.

Who goes to the UN? Mention has been made of Carolyn Kennedy. She is also mentioned as replacement Senator from New York. I do think the Kennedy Clan has a claim to make here.

Other names intrigue me -- some Clinton supporters others not. Strobe Talbott, Wes Clark, Richard Holbrooke, Susan Rice, Peter Galbreith, ...I just see a lot of very strong people available for this administration.

I think we need to keep our faith in Obama, that he will do the right thing and make the right decisions.

I'm sure he's taking into consideration a lot of what we have talked about here. Remember, for once, we have a highly intelligent President Elect this time.

Youse guys are all missing the big news. HRC has already announced her first two choices for Deputy Secretarie of State - Sheryl Crow and Sinbad!

First and foremost, O'Hanlon is a tool of the highest order.

Secondly, get a grip folks. I cannot believe how anxious and overly concerned everybody is getting over each and everyone of Obama's cabinet picks. The guy just ran the smartest, most effective political campaign in all of American history. He's not throwing darts here. Obama has had 2 f*cking years to put together his cabinet wish list. Do you honestly think he's picked these candidates impulsively?

I will miss Hillary Clinton as my Senator. But now she's truly on the world stage. For all the truth and all the malarkey thrown about in the last dozen or so years about the Clintons' "legacy," there's no chance in hell that she will be anything less than amazingly supportive of Obama's foreign policy. She will defer to him in all matters including hiring of her staff.

Get it? Got it? Good.

-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud