Pufferfish

A Step Ahead

Richard Wolffe says in his new book that Barack Obama planned making Hillary Clinton his secretary of state much earlier than many would have guessed:

"His decision to offer her the job of secretary of state came surprisingly early. Well before the end of the primaries, when his staff and friends still felt hostile to her, Obama decided that Clinton possessed the qualities to carry his diplomacy to the rest of the world. 'We actually thought during the primary, when we were pretty sure we were going to win, that she could end up being a very effective secretary of state,' he told me later. 'I felt that she was disciplined, that she was precise, that she was smart as a whip, and that she would present a really strong image to the world... I had that mapped out.'

"Recruiting and managing a team of rivals would not be easy, and Clinton came with her own set of issues. Chief among them was her campaign debt, which she wanted eliminated before she took the job of secretary of state. Would the president-elect go out and help her to do so? 'I'm not begging her to take this job,' Obama told his senior aides. 'If she wants it, I could help. But I'm not willing to go out in these difficult economic times to do a flashy fundraiser in California.' As it happened, plenty of people in the Senate were begging Obama to offer Clinton the job. Obama's aides believed that many Senate Democrats thought Clinton had extended her presidential campaign far beyond the point where she had lost the election. Her negative advertising wasted Democratic money, threatened to undermine the party's nominee, and suggested that she was disloyal to the party. They were unwilling to offer the junior New York senator a position ahead of her lowly rank, and she stood little chance of becoming majority leader. 'There was a lot of encouragement from inside the Senate to get her into this job,' said one senior Obama aide. 'They wanted her out of there.'"

Via.

Never Cross The Family

Here's a rundown from FP on the exchange between Hillary Clinton and John Cornyn, the Texas senator who prevented a unanimous consent vote on Hillary's appointment to the state department:

Well, one of our eagle-eyed sources spotted the same discussion and was able to get within earshot just in time to hear Clinton warn Cornyn, "The Clintons don't forget." One day later, Cornyn's objections to Clinton's confirmation magically disappeared and the man who had set the roll call vote in motion voted in favorof confirming Clinton. Now let's see how she handles Hamid Karzai.

There's no word on whether Cornyn woke the following morning next to a horse's head.

Power Is Everything

With an AP report coming out on the same day that Hillary's confirmation hearing starts, it would have been pretty easy for Republicans to make life difficult for the human jack-o-lantern. The news being made is that Hillary intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies that later contributed to her husband's foundation. That foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, funds charitable efforts dealing with AIDS, poverty and climate change. It's good and worthy work. But the Clinton's appear to be enjoying the fruits of pay to play. And Republicans have what could be a debilitating talking point that Bill receiving money from foreign companies and leaders who will now deal directly with Hillary poses a significant problem. But in this instance it's not a deal breaker. At least, it's not because the Republicans don't have the votes to make it one:

The Democrats were not uniquely spineless during the Bush years. They behaved the way they did largely because their cost/benefit analysis led them to limit their fire in battles they knew they could not win. This isn't an apology for the Democrats, it's just an observation about human nature. If the Republicans had the votes to kill Hillary Clinton's appointment, they might very well go after her with everything from today's AP piece to the 'murder' of Vince Foster. But, without the votes, it's all about how great she is, how smart she is, and how fantastic it will be to work with her.

I've long argued that some issues - like torture and domestic spying - outweigh any cost-benefit analysis. But the point is right in this context. Republicans are going to have to get comfortable with the idea of being an ineffective minority for a long time.

More Clinton Talk

Goldfarb spins history:

Clinton would be a fine Secretary of State, and she is likely to be a nuisance to Obama whether she is inside or outside of hisadministration, but as our top diplomat she could reprise a role that made Powell a kingmaker in this year’s election. And perhaps she could even present the case for war with Iran to an insubordinate United Nations in the event that Obama's personal diplomacy somehow fails to deter the mullahs from their present course.

Two points: I don't see the nuisance angle many are playing up, though I understand why Republicans are hopeful that this is a storyline they can push. Clinton's ambitions will be tied to Obama having a successful foreign policy. Given the low regard many hold her in, the last thing her reputation can take is a conventional perception that she's trying to destroy the administration from within. And Powell as kingmaker? Nice try.

Exasperation

That's how Mike Allen says the Obama team is looking at Bill and Hillary's very public decision making process:

Team Obama, after all but offering SecState to Senator Clinton, is expressing EXASPERATION with the Clinton camp for the difficulty in getting a clean vet on President Bill Clinton’s many entanglements. “The ball is very much in her court, but the president's finances have been a major point of sensitivity from day one,” a Democratic official said.(“Day One!”) “Given that everyone's mystified by how deliberately public the Clintons have made this once secret process, the assumption is either that the Clintons are trying to use the public buzz to steamroll their way in, create a sense of inevitability that overcomes those concerns, or that it's just a matter of time before they … satisfy vetting somehow, some way. Otherwise, after all this speculation, there’ll be a permanent dark cloud hanging over her finances. … But generally the sense among the no-drama Obama world is: This is well on its way to winning best Oscar for drama.”

This strikes me as classic Clinton. Either of them. Nothing can be done easily. Or without great attention from the press. And that's part of the (considerable) trade-off in having her at State. She's going to find a way to get her name in print. Obama will have to live with that.

-- Update --

Ambinder is telling a different story in that there's no worry from the Obama side on the Clintons not moving quickly to reveal their finances. Either way, it seems likely that the biggest hurdle to Hillary being in Obama's cabinet is Bill. He's her biggest asset and detriment. As usual.

Guilt By Association

Emily Yoffe would like to see Hillary's application:

I wonder if the Obama administration would waive the 63-item questionnaire all potential administration officials are required to fill out before naming Hillary secretary of state. There are so many questions that might be troublesome, from No. 6, concerning "whether you or your spouse" ever received money from any foreign entities (See Bill's amazing Kazakhstan adventure), to No. 8, asking for a description of the "most controversial matters you have ever been involved in," to No. 12, "Please identify all speeches you have given" to my favorite, No. 13, in which the candidate is asked to describe any electronic communication they have ever sent that might be "a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect." There isn't enough bandwith in the world for Hillary to attach all the documents that answer these questions.

I keep coming back to Bill. If Hillary is appointed to State, the media storm will be huge. And reporters will be all over Bill's business interests - and especially funding for the Clinton Library - in a way we inexplicably never saw while Hillary was running for president. It's not an insignificant red flag, to say the least.

Hillary At State

We all know about Obama's affinity for the concept of building a Team of Rivals. It's safe to assume he'd initially be attracted to the idea of having the strength to keep an enemy close. So at first blush there's reason to lend credence to the rumor. Ambinder on the obvious positives:

Clinton would be a formidable nominee despite her primary battles with Obama over the direction and temperament of foreign policy. A member of the Senate Armed Services committee and as First Lady, she is on a first-name basis with world leaders and generals.  News of Clinton's trip to Chicago has already made worldwide headlines.

This would also anesthetize a potential dangerous enemy within Obama's party. A primary challenge - already unlikely - would be an incredible long-shot. But there's also the issue of management. Hillary's campaign was poorly run and that starts at the top. There would have to be concern from the Obama camp with her ability to run such a large organization. Obama has shown no desire to have his White House operate like Bill Clinton's, which resembled a frat house. I'm sure he'd be concerned that the equivalent could happen at the State Department. And there's also the issue of her husband and the looming chance of a Bill Clinton scandal that would distract Obama's administration.

Still, at this point the rumor should be taken seriously. The Obama campaign was known for its ability to prevent leaks to the press. This big of a story indicates they're floating a trial balloon.

-- Update --

Sullivan is down:

So here's hoping he offers and she accepts. It's an elegant and shrewd move; both public spirited and yet coldly calculating at the same time. Pure Obama.

At first glance I also like the idea. Leaving Hillary to idle in the senate doesn't make for a placid four years. The Clintons aren't going to hangout while Baucus runs the health care show; and the last thing Obama wants or needs is to have Clinton serve as a defacto sounding board to every move he makes. But I disagree with Andrew that it gives her an opening to run in 2012. Barring a disastrous fist term, Hillary would be portrayed as Brutus for pulling out a knife after Obama acted magnanimously.

In the Wilderness

Bill Clinton's interview this morning on Meet the Press was yet another reminder that Bill Clinton is not on board the Obama Train. And that he's doing his best to derail it, ever so gently. To wit: "I read two different articles about women who said what African-Americans often said about Senator Obama. They said, these women said, 'Look, we think gender's more important than race or party or even issues. It is the defining characteristic of the social order and we believe that it's important to do this.'"

Clinton is still trying to re-fight South Carolina. He's arguing, every so gently, blacks voted for Obama because Obama's black. As a result, Coates is done with Bill Clinton and he wants to know something:

But the greater question is why do we care?

Because we're bitter and clinging to the past. The Democratic Party and liberals in general spent an enormous amount of energy rallying around and defending our oversexed president from Hope. I was still in my teens when he lost his damn mind, but still was doing intellectual Jiu-Jitsu to explain away his actions. We gave up political capital and lost the 2000 election because he couldn't keep his penis in his pants. And he never apologized. Now it's ten years later and we're on the cusp of reclaiming the executive office that he helped lose. Yet after suffering through two brutal Bush terms he's still getting in the way. His smallness is unbearable. The disconnect is jarring. We have in Barack Obama a talented liberal who can lead the country on a different path. Hell, he can lead the world on a different course. But this narcissistic hustler has once again betrayed his party - he's betrayed progressives and everything we continually push for - by putting his and Hillary's ambitions above all else.

And yet we're still drawn to him, like a son to a father who doesn't love him. I know that's a harsh sentence. Bill Clinton did many great things for this country while president and his work since leaving the office should be lauded. But his selfishness, as we've always known, continues to be his great unraveling. It could play a part in Obama's unraveling. It's been written that Clinton is the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral. He is the Democratic Party's elder statesman and de facto leader. That's why we care. I know Coates is saying we need to move on. But breaking up is hard to do. And as much as I want to say I'm done with him, I know there will be a moment when I will again be enamored with the charming guy who sells a liberal worldview better than any other politician in America. Everyone, that is, except for Barack Obama.

Self-Interest

If you were at all doubting who Bill Clinton wants to see win this election, don't.

Off in the Jungle

Hillary deadenders, still fighting the lame fight, see a silver lining:

If McCain does not run for re-election the 44 year old Palin will be the Republican nominee in 2012. If the Democrats can be bought back to life after they are destroyed in NOvember and in 2010 they will have to nominate a women to run against Palin in 2012.

Shine on you crazy diamond. Shine on...