Obama’s Secretary of State Picks Revised
Okay, okay. This week has been nothing short of awesome for progressives out there. But while we know with more certainty that our 44th president will be Barack Obama, we don’t quite know who his cabinet will be. I have written two posts in regards to this topic. The Secretary of State post will have to be updated considering that some of the choices seem to be no longer in the running and one of them will be our next vice-president. So, lets get this started, shall we?
Susan E. Rice
A protege of Madaline Albright and a fellow at the Brookings Institute, Susan Rice is very familiar with Barack Obama. The first two met back in 2004 when Barack was running for the Ilinois senate and was an advisor to him during the campaign. She also is no stranger to Washington having served under Bill Clinton as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and before that as a member of his National Security Council. Rice is a strong advocate for intervention into the Darfur genocide and has dealt with terrorism when Al-Qaeda bombed the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Certainly she has credentials that appeal to liberals and progressives, but she also has been criticized for her role in the Clinton’s administration failure in the Rwandan Genocide. Oh, by the way, she is not related to Condoleezza Rice; although, she did attend Stanford University.
Gov. Bill Richardson
One holdover from my original list is governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. Again, the man is certainly more than qualified to be anything in Washington. Earlier in the year, he offered his endorsement to Obama when Barack and Hillary Clinton were vying for the Democratic nomination. He was Secretary of Energy under Clinton and a US Ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton sent Richardson to meetings with Korea, Cuba, India, Peru and Sudan. A big claim to fame is his as a negotiator arguing for the release of a journalist from capture in Sudan and two American servicemen in Iraq.
Sen. John Kerry
The initial stage where Barack Obama rose to the national level was at the Democratic National Convention that nominated John Kerry. What does the one time presidential hopeful have to offer to the next president in terms of resume? How about a tenure in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee? Well, one could certainly argue that Chris Dodd is the better choice since he is the head of the same committee. Well he was one of the first out there to do it. Biden didn’t do that and neither did Dodd. At least not at first. But the grassy knolls out there are speculating that Kerry endorsed Obama over Clinton for a spot as Secretary of State. Well that aside, I really can’t offer any other reasons why Kerry would be a choice over Richardson or Rice, but it’s out there.
Sen. Dick Lugar
He said he’s not interested, but that doesn’t really mean he won’t accept. He’s a Republican. But again, that doesn’t mean he won’t accept. In the final debate, Obama stated that Lugar is someone that has helped “shaped his ideas and would surround him the White House.” But what does he bring? Well the two did work together in senate writing the Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act which in name is somewhat self-explanatory. In fact, Lugar invited the rookie senator upon his election to join the committee. The two traveled to Russia, the Ukraine and Azerbaijan which led to the legislation mentioned. Certainly the two share similar stances on weapons reductions. This pick would certainly benefit Barack Obama with his reach across the aisle hopes.
The leading candidate of all these is Richardson, but my hopes are banking on Rice. And who know, maybe Nunn will be a surprise.
