Cabinet Diary 1 - Secretary of State

by: tietack

Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 11:06

There are a number of excellent options - some who served in the Clinton Administration - some outsiders - and even a couple of Obamicans. For convenience, I've taken the list from a betting site (yes, it is in the order of the oddsmakers' favorite):

Richard Holbrooke
Anthony Lake
Richard Lugar
Bill Richardson
Chuck Hagel
John Kerry
Daniel Shapiro
Daniel Kurtzer
George Mitchell
Eric Lynn
Dennis Ross
Susan Rice
James Steinberg
Mara Rudman
Bill Clinton
Colin Powell
Hillary Clinton

I evaluate each option as best I can on the flip. (I had to research the credentials of a few.) I trust others will add more data. (And if nobody notices diaries here, I'll probably also post on the great Orange blog too.)

Richard Holbrooke: Career Foreign Service - starting in Vietnam. Boy wonder Assistant SecState in the Carter administration. Balkan envoy, architect of the Dayton peace accords. UN ambassador

Anthony Lake: Started in the Foreign Service. Served as National Security Advisor (NSA). Nominated for - but did not serve as CIA Director due to Republican opposition.

Richard Lugar: Conservative Republican Indiana Senator. Openly declared his support for President-elect Obama's foreign policy. His tacit support may have made the difference in Indiana. Cited by Obama in a debate. His appointment would give the Rs another seat to defend in 2010.

Bill Richardson: Current NM Gov. All star Clinton admin cabinet member (Energy, UN Ambassador). As suggested in one of the cable shows last night, has a talent for getting others to like him.

Chuck Hagel: Retiring Conservative Republican anti-War Nebraska Senator. Opposed the Iraq war for years now.

John Kerry: 2004 Democratic candidate for President.

Daniel Shapiro: Congressional foreign policy expert. Just turned 40. Obama advisor on the Middle East. Congressional liaison for NSA Berger.

Daniel Kurtzer: Career Foreign Service Officer. Ambassador to Egypt under Clinton; Ambassador to Israel under Bush. Co-author of Obama MidEast policy.

George Mitchell: Former Senate Majority Leader. Special envoy who did the scut work for the Northern Ireland peace accords ("The Good Friday agreement"). I suspect he'd love to follow his mentor's footsteps (Ed Muskie) as SecState.

Eric Lynn: Jewish Affairs staffer for Obama. I know and can find little else on this candidate.

Dennis Ross: Career Foreign Service Officer. Long time Middle East expert - Clinton's envoy to the area, criticized by both sides (which may not be a bad thing for a diplomat).

Susan Rice: Served in various NSA staff positions. Assistant SecState for African affairs. Dukakis Foreign policy advisor. If you've seen a discussion of the prospective Obama foreign policy, you've probably seen Susan Rice. No relation to Condi.

James Steinberg: Deputy NSA to Clinton. RAND analyst.  Co-author of Obama MidEast policy.

Mara Rudman: NSA staffer in Clinton administration.

Bill Clinton: He'd love the job.

Colin Powell: I don't think he wants the job.

Hillary Clinton: While I honor what Hillary has done, I have to think - are the bookmakers kidding?