Hillary and Holder

Will President-elect Obama offer Hillary Clinton the State Department? Will she accept it if he does? Oh, the drama!

Personally I think Hillary Clinton would make a great Secretary of State, but I hope she stays in the Senate. Why take a job with an expiration date? I think she’s better off as the next Ted Kennedy rather than the next Warren Christopher. With patience, she could become (probably should) Senate Majority Leader. She can be a dominant force in the Senate for decades if she wants.

Of course, Secretary of State is a better resume builder for 2016. Does that trump any other motivation or consideration? It might--and I wouldn’t hold it against her if it did.

Secretary of State is also more prestigious and glamorous, which probably makes it more fun. I also wouldn’t hold it against her if she just thinks she’d enjoy life more as head of the State Department, even if it’s just a one or two term gig.

Anyway, that’s a lot of words to say I’m happy either way. I think she’s probably sincerely agonizing over it. She’d have to give up a ton whichever direction she goes. However, there’s probably no wrong choice here. It’s great or great, just in dramatically different forms.

So what about Eric Holder as Attorney General? Meh.* He’s a Washington type, which is kind of disappointing. After the Bush Administration’s grotesque politicization of the Justice Department, I’d rather have someone not involved in game at all. Someone righteously outraged by all that crap. I’m sure he’ll be competent, but will he clean house like it needs to be done? We’ll see…

*Now officially in the dictionary!