So, the word on the street is that Hillary is Barack’s choice for Secretary of State, and the rumors are that she’s accepting it. Here’s my take.
Hillary’s presidential ambitions
Is it too late? Hillary Clinton is now 61. If Barack Obama is a successful president, I don’t get the feeling that Hillary will challenge him 4 years from now. That leaves 2016, when she’ll be 69 years old. Here’s the thing: with the election of Obama, we’ve effectively closed the door on the baby boomers, on the oldsters. It could be that this election was a big turning point and the baton has been passed to a new generation — one that Hillary Clinton doesn’t belong to. Maybe Hillary understands that this election was her one and only shot at the White House?
Hillary’s senate ambitions
I have thought, ever since her campaign began to falter, that Clinton should stay in the senate. There have been a lot of changes there recently, and old faces are fading away. Right now, the dean of the senate is either Byrd or Kennedy; neither of them is likely to be office much longer and that leaves a vacancy for a new “lion” — that could be Clinton. She could conceivably carve out a decades-long career and create a role for herself as the most distinguished member of the senate well into the future.
Hillary on the world stage
There is an opportunity as Secretary of State, but it is a one-shot deal. The next Secretary will be positioned to bring America’s standing in the world back from the brink after 8 years of Bush policies and wars. Hillary Clinton could be the envoy to the rest of the world who actually gets them to like us again. Is this the kind of role that she might look for to cement her name in the history books? A consolation for not being the first female president? There aren’t many Secretaries of State who have become household names, but Hillary Clinton may just be able to pull it off.
The senate could be a distinguished career. The presidency could be a long shot. Secretary of State? That could be a new challenge. It’ll be interesting to see which direction she heads.
