Follow BeltwayBlips on Twitter
Would Hillary Bring Her Old-Guard Foreign Policy Advisers To State Department?
TPM Election Central —
... As Spencer Ackerman puts it in a good rundown on the topic, at stake is more than the potential for internal ideological conflict at State: ...
Wither the Subcabinet?
Matthew Yglesias —
... Spencer Ackerman has a great article on the concern that a lot of Obama-minded people have about the prospect of Hillary Clinton at Foggy Bottom — they worry about what that means for subcabinet positions: ...
Pluses and minuses
Political Animal —
... he will need partners who are perceived as tough, smart, shrewd and even skeptical of the deals he wants to do. Clinton is all of these. Clinton may be the bad cop to Obama's good cop. Because she is trusted by Pentagon-hugging national security conservatives, she may legitimize his desire to respond to this pivot point in American history with bold strokes rather than incremental ones." I find all of this pretty compelling. But then, there's the other hand. Spencer Ackerman has a great piece today on one disconcerting aspect of this dynamic that's gone largely overlooked: ...
Get Ready For Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Gateway Pundit —
... Some foreign policy wonks believe Hillary will take the old guard to Foggy Bottom. Maybe this will give us conservatives some entertainment for the next few years as we wait on the sidelines for a turn to play.
Clinton Accepts?
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan —
That's what the Times is reporting. Ackerman is afraid that Clinton will fill the State Department with loyalists: Obama loyalists wonder whether the same people who attacked Obama on foreign policy during the primaries can implement Obama’s agenda from State Dept. perches. “Look, Clinton and Obama are both smart people,” said one Democratic official who would not speak for the record, “and I’m sure their one-on-one relationship would be OK. But when you hire a Clinton, you hire more than just that one person, you get the entire package.” If Clinton ...
Friday roundup: Cabinet parlor game edition
Top of the Ticket —
Welcome to the second edition of Friday roundup, where we humbly suggest some things from around the Web that we think are worth reading:
Marc Ambinder speculates about who might fill the positions vacated by people in Obama's new Cabinet.
A smart analysis of why Obama picked Hillary Clinton for secretary of State.
Meanwhile, Spencer Ackerman wonders whom Clinton will take with her to her new gig.
An incredible photo gallery of past presidential Cabinets.
Lots and lots of people want ...
The Obama Cabinet... Where Have We Seen This Bunch Before?
Gateway Pundit —
Who knew?... The odds were about 50-50 that if you made it to a couple of Democratic Primary debates that you'd end up on the President's cabinet? On stage before the Des Moines Register Iowa Democratic Debate last December, stands the current President-elect Obama, Commerce Secretary Bill Richardson, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden. Who's next?... Secretary of Defense Dennis ...
State of War, Revisited
N/A —
... Who will make policy in the Obama Clinton State Department? Obama or Clinton? Or Clinton’s people. No small thing. ...
Taylor Marsh: On Clinton at State
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... Spencer Ackerman writes that "Some foreign-policy experts in the Obama orbit are expressing frustration." Spencer's account talks a lot about people's "fears." No doubt they have them, but it's hilarious that so called "foreign-policy experts," the people to whom Spencer is speaking, don't get what Obama seems obviously to be doing. ...
Getting Out of Iraq
Ross Douthat —
In a rare harmonic convergence, the Hillary-to-State news has Daniel Larison and Michael Goldfarb arguing along similar lines, joining the chorus of voices who see Obama's likely national-security appointments as a blow to those who hoped for a real progressive turn in foreign policy. Having basically made this argument myself, let me offer one thought by way of counterpoint - namely, that foreign policy is one arena where progressives might (might!) end up being well-served by having their agenda implemented by other people. ...
In Which Blogger Boys Discover That Politicians Say a Lot of Things...and Don't Always Do Them
Shakesville —
... that Hillary Clinton is preparing to resign her Senate seat because she has already accepted Barack Obama's offer to become the Secretary of State. Some of the ...
11/25: Judging Obama By The Company He Keeps
Blogometer —
... candidates: DE SEN: Who The Heck Is That? Liberal bloggers are critical of DE Gov. Ruth Ann Minner 's decision to appoint VP-elect Joe Biden 's former CoS Ted Kaufman to fill Biden's Senate seat until a 2010 special election: THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Getting Out Of Iraq The Atlantic 's Ross Douthat : "In a rare harmonic convergence, the Hillary-to-State news has Daniel Larison and Michael Goldfarb arguing along similar lines, joining the chorus of voices who see Obama's likely national-security appointments as a ...
12/1: Turning Skeptics Into Believers
Blogometer —
... of NY Sen. (and incoming Sec/State) Hillary Clinton , as they're concerned about her hawkishness and the possibility that she will staff the State Dep't with "loyalists and traditional thinkers" . Lefty bloggers also have qualms about Obama's decision to tap two non-Democrats -- Def. Sec. Robert Gates and Gen. James Jones -- as his Def. Sec. and Nat'l Security Adviser (respectively). However, liberal bloggers are feeling a bit better about Obama's picks following a New York Times ...
