From TheHill.com:

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is charging the same fee — $150,000 — per speech as does former President George W. Bush.

So, as Bush emerges again into the public eye — he threw out the first pitch of the season at the Texas Rangers’ home opener — he’s finding that he’s not the biggest star of his own administration.

Click here for more.

WASHINGTON, DC — The Senate has confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton to become secretary of state.

The Senate vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the former first lady despite lingering concerns by some Republicans that her husband’s charitable fundraising overseas could pose a conflict of interest.

Republicans and Democrat alike say her swift confirmation was necessary so that President Barack Obama could begin tackling the major foreign policy issues at hand, including two wars, increased violence in the Middle East and the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Immediately after the vote, Clinton was to be sworn in during a private ceremony at the Capitol.

From The Opinionator at The New York Times:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for secretary of state, appears today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Op-Ed page asked 10 experts to pose the questions they would like to hear Senator Clinton answer.

1. United States policy has failed with respect to Israeli-Palestinian peace. The reluctance of any American president to act as an honest broker in the process, rather than as a strong, unquestioning friend of Israel, has contributed to this failure. How do you propose to bring success to the peace process?

2. There is clearly an imbalance of influence and power between the State Department and the Defense Department. An enormous shift of foreign policy influence has also occurred, since the era of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, from the State Department to the National Security Council staff and its head, the national security adviser. How do you propose to bring some of that influence back to the State Department?

— LAWRENCE B. WILKERSON, chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2002 to 2005

1. Does it benefit American security to have more liberal democracies in the world? If so, what steps would you take to advance this trend?

2. Do you believe that NATO enlargement has contributed to American security and moved former Soviet states toward greater democracy and regional cooperation?

— MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, the president of Georgia

1. Some say “war on terror” is a misnomer that has led our policy astray. They argue that terrorism is a tactic, not an ideology or a cause, and that a war against it is bound to be ill focused and inconclusive. Do you think we should drop the term “war on terror,” and describe our policy more precisely as a war to defeat Al Qaeda and violent Islamic extremism?

2. In the Middle East, we see a paradox: Countries with pro-American governments like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have populations with high levels of anti-American sentiment. Meanwhile in Iran, whose government is hostile to the United States, public opinion of America is more favorable. How do you explain this, and what can we learn from it? Should the United States disentangle itself from autocratic regimes in Saudi Arabia and Egypt?

3. One of the most damaging legacies of the Iraq war is that it has given idealism and internationalism a bad name. How will you persuade the American people, and the world, that the United States can be a force for democracy and freedom?

— MICHAEL SANDEL, a professor of government at Harvard

Click here for the full post.

Addressing her Senate confirmation hearing, Clinton also promised to push for stronger U.S. alliances around the globe.

“We must build a world with more partners and fewer adversaries,” said the woman that President-elect Barack Obama took for his administration’s leading diplomatic job.

“America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own,” Clinton said, “and the world cannot solve them without America.”

Borrowing a phrase meant to signal a move away from the militarization of U.S. foreign policy, Clinton said, “We must use what has been called `smart power,’ the full range of tools at our disposal,” she said. “With `smart power,’ diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy.”

She credited Secretary of Defense Robert Gates with stimulating debate about the role of diplomacy and other civilian institutions’ role in fighting the global war on terror, endorsing his call for providing the State Department with more resources and a bigger budget.

She assured the committee that if confirmed, the State Department “will be firing on all cylinders” — applying pressure when needed and looking for opportunities to advancing U.S. interests.

Clinton, with daughter Chelsea in attendance, appeared set to sail smoothly through her hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, despite concerns among some lawmakers that the global fundraising of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, could pose ethical conflicts for her as secretary of state. Her husband was not present at the hearing.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the committee, said in opening the hearing that he welcomed Clinton’s nomination, calling her “extraordinarily capable and smart.”

In his opening remarks, Sen. Richard Lugar, the panel’s ranking Republican, praised Clinton, calling her “the epitome of a big leaguer” who is fully qualified for the job and whose presence at the State Department could open new opportunities for American diplomacy, including the possibility of improving the United States’ image in the world.

But Lugar also raised questions about the issue of Bill Clinton‘s fundraising work and its relation to her wife’s new post. Lugar said that the only way for Clinton to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to her husband’s charity is to forswear any new foreign contributions. The Indiana senator said the situation poses a “unique complication” that requires “great care and transparency.”

“The Clinton Foundation exists as a temptation for any foreign entity or government that believes it could curry favor through a donation,” he said. “It also sets up potential perception problems with any action taken by the secretary of state in relation to foreign givers or their countries.”

However, Lugar indicated that he would accept the alternative approach proposed by Clinton and the Obama transition team. Lugar said their plan — which relies on State Department ethics officials to review the donations — would be more complex and require stringent oversight.

It should be considered the minimum standard to ensure overseas donations do not propose a conflict of interest for Clinton as the nation’s top diplomat.

“We should be clear that this agreement is a beginning, not an end,” Lugar said. “It is not a guarantee against conflict of interest or its appearance. For the agreement to succeed, the parties must make the integrity of U.S. foreign policy their first principle of implementation.”

From the moment it became known that Obama was considering nominating Clinton, questions arose about her husband’s charitable work and whether it might pose a conflict of interest for her as secretary of state.

Lawmakers have asked for more details on an agreement she and Obama worked out after the election. As outlined in a Jan. 5 letter from the former president’s lawyer, ethics officials at the State Department will be allowed to review overseas contributions made to Bill Clinton‘s charity. The State Department also will be able to assess in advance the former president’s consulting work and speaking engagements.

The committee could vote on Clinton’s nomination as early as Thursday. If she is approved, as expected, Clinton could be confirmed by the full Senate as early as Inauguration Day.

In advance of the hearing, Hillary Clinton reached out to individual senators through telephone calls and face-to-face meetings, including an hourlong session with Lugar.

On Monday night, outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley hosted a dinner for Clinton and Hadley’s successor, retired Gen. James Jones, at the State Department, officials said.

Clinton, 61, intended to emphasize areas of foreign policy in which she and Obama think alike, including their conviction that in order to make gains abroad the United States needs to strengthen its domestic economy, the official said.

Republicans are not expected to try to block the nomination and have even been generous in their praise of Clinton.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Clinton expresses herself well and won’t make any “rookie mistakes.”

Clinton, who entered the Democratic presidential primary race as the front-runner but lost to Obama, is primed to take over a State Department wrestling with a vast array of diplomatic challenges, from the crisis in Gaza and stalled peace efforts in the Middle East to nuclear worries in south Asia.

In significant respects, the Clinton and Obama views on foreign policy are compatible.

Like Obama, Clinton has said the U.S. should make a more focused commitment to stabilizing Afghanistan and pushing Pakistan to eliminate the havens al-Qaida terrorists have found on its territory.

Both favor closing the prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Both support the continued expansion of the Army and the Marine Corps, and they share the view that the Bush administration undervalued international diplomacy.

Carlos Pascual, vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, said in an interview Monday that Obama and Clinton both look at key issues in their global context — the spread of nuclear know-how and materials, the wide impact of economic reversals, the international reach of terrorist networks and the transnational impact of disease and poverty.

The Senate is also holding four confirmation hearings Tuesday for other Obama choices for Cabinet and top White House positions. Appearing will be Peter Orszag, his choice to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Nabors II, for deputy director of OMB; New York housing official Shaun Donovan, to be secretary of housing and urban development; Steven Chu, to head the Energy Department; and Arne Duncan, as education secretary.

From Nicholas Graham at Huffington Post:

Colin Powell, in a lengthy interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN, questioned whether the Republican Party had a future if it continued listening to and taking its cues from right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh. Powell said that figures such as Limbaugh appeal to Republicans’ lesser instincts, suggesting that’s not the kind of party that the GOP wants to be.

Limbaugh responded to Powell today on his radio show, dismissing the criticism as without merit. Limbaugh believes that the Republican Party hasn’t been listening to him over the last six years, as evidenced by its selection of John McCain as the Party’s 2008 presidential nominee.

Click here for the full story.

ALSO, check out the story about Colin Powell criticizing Sarah Palin and the Republican Party.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton probably never imagined how their tale would play. As competitors for the highest office in the land (in a historic year no less), they pulled no punches in criticizing each other. As recently as this week, Clinton’s Secretary of State appointment was in serious doubt as the Obama legal team worked quickly to investigate the Clinton Global Initiative and its ties to foreign funding. 

Of course there was that whole primary thing in which Hillary questioned Barack Obama’s patriotism by way of his absent flag pin, and Barack Obama associated Clinton with the Iraq War vote she cast as a junior Senator. All the mud-slinging and unfriendly exchanges notwithstanding, the rivals probably increased their wherewithal and respect for the other during their contest. Even as President Bill Clinton hesitated to confer the ultimate respect on Barack Obama (acknowledging his qualifications), the Obama strategists moved to involve Hillary Clinton in some aspect of his incoming administration. 

The final verdict? Hillary Clinton will hold one of the highest Cabinet positions as Secretary of State, daring to create a new peace accord in the Middle East, and to sanction terrorist states on the international fringe. The State and Justice departments were in severe disarray under President George W. Bush, and the intelligence organizations like the FBI and CIA felt like outsiders in the security discussion. By employing a key negotiator in Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama will do much to mend the fences between those institutions. And more importantly, Senator Clinton has never been a pushover. World leaders will have to take her seriously or face dire consequences.

What Reporters Are Saying

From Politico: 

“One of the things that people often make a mistake in doing is assuming that there’s some sort of personal animosity there, when in fact they were engaged in a very intense competition for the nomination,” said Phil Singer, who was a spokesman for Clinton’s campaign. “They both have a very healthy level of respect for one another.”

From NYTimes:  

 

If Mr. Obama and his team can bring about that kind of shift, it could mark one of the most significant changes in national security strategy in decades and greatly enhance the powers of Mrs. Clinton as secretary of state.

Mrs. Clinton may find, as her predecessor Condoleezza Rice and others in the Bush administration discovered, that building up civilian capacity is easier to advocate than execute.

 

Reasons why Hillary is a great choice from The Daily Beast: 

 

1) Hillary’s Experienced. She may not be the foreign policy wonk like Richard Holbrooke or James Steinberg, but all those years as First Lady—many of them on the road—have given her considerable exposure to foreign leaders. That’s important because Obama himself won’t be able to devote as much attention to foreign policy as everyone assumed six months ago. Until the economy recovers (and who knows when that will be), he’s going to be primarily a domestic policy president. That means he needs foreign policy advisors who can make tough decisions without a lot of Oval Office hand-holding. Hillary fits the bill.

2) She’s No Pushover. Secretary of state is a hard job. In the last half-century, secretaries of state have often been outmaneuvered by national security advisors, who have greater proximity to the boss, and don’t have a big, slow bureaucracy to manage. Now that vice presidents have started to wield real power, life atop Foggy Bottom has gotten harder still. Hillary will have her hands full going up against James Jones, Robert Gates and Joseph Biden, but she’s got a far better chance than, say, John Kerry or Bill Richardson, for two reasons. First, she’s got star power: Other than Obama himself, she’ll be the most famous person in every room she’s in. Second, she has a network of loyalists, inside and outside government, who know how the game is played. She—and they—won’t be easy to roll.

3) She has a domestic base. When it comes to foreign policy, Obama seems determined to do some pretty controversial things: Step up withdrawals from Iraq, launch a diplomatic push with Iran, perhaps shift resources from America’s military to the diplomatic corps. All these things will require a secretary of state who knows how to sell policies in Peoria, and on Capitol Hill. That’s one of Hillary’s big advantages. She thinks like a politician, not a career diplomat, which is crucial since Obama’s Middle East policies will likely require a kind of political campaign at home, so the right can’t successfully paint him as soft on America’s foes.

And the surprise endorsement that no one saw coming. Conservative bigot radio host Rush Limbaugh has called President-elect Obama’s choice of Hillary “a brilliant stroke“:

Says Limbaugh: “You know the old phrase, ‘You keep your friends close and your enemies closer?’ How can she run for president in 2012? She’d have to run against the incumbent and be critical of him _ the one who made her secretary of state.”

Despite the potential friction that remains in this relationship, Barack Obama seems willing to divert their sense of competition into the mechanics of a working relationship. Although this is a risky strategy, it is certainly broad-minded as the U.S. looks to improve its standing in the world and fix a flailing economy. 

Obama continued his theme of diversity by choosing two more female leaders for crucial positions, most notably his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton. Clinton is well-respected among world leaders, and has a breadth of knowledge of world affairs that will surely make her a force of both diplomacy and defense. In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and the changing world climate concerning Islamic extremism and genocide, the President-elect will be responsible for ending the Iraq War cautiously. Marine General James Jones will serves as his National Security Adviser. 

From Associated Press: 

 

CHICAGO (AP) President-elect Barack Obama announced Monday that Robert Gates would remain as defense secretary, making President Bush’s Pentagon chief his own as he seeks to wind down the U.S. role in Iraq. Obama picked former campaign rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

At a news conference, Obama also introduced retired Marine Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security.

The announcements rounded out the top tier of the team that will advise the incoming chief executive on foreign and national security issues in an era marked by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and terrorism around the globe.

“The time has come for a new beginning, a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century,” Obama said as his Cabinet picks stood behind him on a flag-draped stage.

“We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships.”

Obama said his appointees “share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America’s role as a leader in the world.”

He also appointed campaign foreign policy aide Susan Rice as his ambassador to the United Nations. Obama said he would make her a member of the Cabinet, an increase in stature from the Bush era.

Obama’s announcements marked a shift in emphasis, after a spate of appointments last week for his economic team.

He now has selected half the members of his Cabinet, and is doing so at an unusually quick pace during his transition as he seeks to fulfill his goal of being able to “hit the ground running” when he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20.

Obama introduced Clinton first, saying of his former presidential rival, “She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and toughness, and a remarkable work ethic. … She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world’s leaders, who will command respect in every capital, and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world.”

Clinton will give up her seat as a senator from New York to join the Obama Cabinet. Her appointment was preceded by lengthy negotiations involving her husband, the former president, whose international business connections posed potential conflicts of interests.

The former president also agreed to disclose the donors to the foundation that built his library, as well as contributors to his international foundation.

She said to Obama, in a brief turn at the lectern, “I am proud to join you … and may God bless you and our great country.”

Sen. Clinton had scarcely finished speaking when her husband issued a written statement. “She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America’s image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities,” he said.

Gates said he was “mindful that we are engaged in two wars and face other serious challenges at home and around the world.”

“I must do my duty as they do theirs,” he said of the men and women in uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. “How could I do otherwise?”

He said he was “honored to serve President-elect Obama.”

 

From UK’s Telegraph:

She has been in contact with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan in recent days to ease tensions between the nuclear states, and this is expected to be a dominant theme in her meetings with Indian officials.

Earlier, Mr Bush called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to again offer US support and condolences for the victims and their families of the attacks, which claimed the lives of nearly 200 people and injured scores more.

Five Americans were killed in the attacks in which gunmen stormed Mumbai’s top luxury hotels, its biggest railway station, a Jewish center, and several other sites in the financial capital.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Ms Rice decided to “modify” her European trip, cutting out meetings in Rome to go personally to India.

“We thought it was important to take this moment to travel to Delhi to express the condolences of the U.S. people directly to the government of India and its people and to hold face-to-face meetings,” Mr McCormack said.

“It is very sad that India has experienced this level of terrorism. There will be discussions about how to move forward.”

Obama’s announcements include members of his national security team and beyond, completing the nominations for one-third of his Cabinet as he moves quickly to assemble the country’s new leadership in times of war and a troubled economy.

His selections include some of his most loyal campaign advisers and notably some who were not, including Democratic primary rival Clinton and President Bush‘s defense secretary, Robert Gates, staying in his current post.

Obama also planned to name Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary, according to Democratic officials. He also planned to announce two senior foreign policy positions outside the 15-member Cabinet: campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador and retired Marine General James L. Jones as national security adviser.

The Democratic official disclosed the plans on a condition of anonymity Sunday because they were not authorized for public release ahead of the news conference.

Those names had been discussed before for those jobs, but Obama was going to make them official Monday in his hometown.

Last week, he named key members of his economic team, including Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as treasury secretary. Obama is not yet ready to name his intelligence advisers, one Democratic official said.

Clinton’s nomination is the latest chapter in what began as a bitter rivalry for the Democratic presidential nomination. After Obama defeated her, Clinton backed his general election campaign against Republican Sen. John McCain, and she now has agreed to give up her Senate seat to be his top diplomat.

To make it possible for his wife to become secretary of state, party officials said, former President Clinton agreed:

_to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997 and all contributors going forward.

_to refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference.

_to cease holding CGI meetings overseas.

_to volunteer to step away from day-to-day management of the foundation while his wife is secretary of state.

_to submit his speaking schedule to review by the State Department and White House counsel.

_to submit any new sources of income to a similar ethical review.

Bill Clinton‘s business deals and global charitable endeavors had been expected to create problems for the former first lady’s nomination. But in negotiations with the Obama transition team, the former president agreed to several measures designed to bring transparency to those activities.

“It’s a big step,” said Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who said he plans to vote to confirm Clinton.

Lugar said there would still be “legitimate questions” raised about the former president’s extensive international involvement. “I don’t know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite measures up to this who has such cosmic ties, but … hopefully, this team of rivals will work,” Lugar said.

Obama and Clinton clashed repeatedly on foreign affairs during the primary. Obama criticized Clinton for her vote to authorize the Iraq war. Clinton said Obama lacked the experience to be president and she chided him for saying he would meet with leaders of nations such as Iran and Cuba without conditions.

Advisers said Obama had for several months envisioned Clinton as his top diplomat, and he invited her to Chicago to discuss the job just a week after the Nov. 4 election. The two met privately Nov. 13 in Obama’s transition office in downtown Chicago.

Clinton was said to be interested and then to waver, concerned about relinquishing her Senate seat and the political independence it conferred. Those concerns were largely resolved after Obama assured her she would be able to choose a staff and have direct access to him, advisers said.

Remaining in the Senate also may not have been an attractive choice for Clinton. Despite her political celebrity, she is a relatively junior senator without prospects for a leadership position or committee chairmanship anytime soon.

Clinton “is known throughout the world, very smart, a little harder line than Senator Obama took during the campaign,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close McCain friend and adviser who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, said the Clintons will have to tread carefully to avoid the appearance of conflicts.

“The presumption will be that both Secretary of State Clinton and former President Clinton will be very judicious in what they take on because there’s a new dimension here,” Reed said. “I think they’ve put up a good framework. This disclosure, this transparency is the right way to go.”

Lugar and Reed both spoke on ABC’s “This Week.” Graham was on “Fox News Sunday.”

From The Atlantic Monthly:

Pete Williams of NBC raised the question on MSNBC this afternoon: Is Hillary Clinton barred by the Constitution from accepting the post of secretary of state?

Article One, Section Six of the U.S. Constitution says:

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Essentially, you cannot take a job if the salary was increased during your current congressional term. And the salary for cabinet officials has gone up in the past year. Even if it is lowered back down, constitutional scholars say that may not be enough to fix the problem.

Click here to learn more.

President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for the former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who fought hard for the presidency.

One week after the former primary rivals met secretly to discuss the idea of Clinton becoming the nation’s top diplomat, an Obama adviser said Thursday that the two sides were moving quickly toward making it a reality, barring any unforeseen problems.

The senior adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity because the president-elect is not prepared to officially announce the nomination, said Obama believes Clinton would bring instant stature and credibility to U.S. diplomatic relations.

Obama is convinced the advantages of Clinton serving far outweighed potential downsides, the adviser said.

Transition aides said the two camps have worked out financial disclosure issues involving Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the complicated international funding of his foundation that operates in more than 40 countries. The aides said Obama and Hillary Clinton have had substantive conversations about the secretary of state job.

Clinton has been mulling the post for several days, but the comments from the transition aides suggested that Obama’s team does not feel she is inclined to turn it down. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines would not comment, except to say that anything about Cabinet appointments is for Obama’s transition team to address.

Clinton would have to surrender her New York Senate seat, which she has held for eight years, to take the job.

The nomination would be a remarkable union between the former first lady who was an early favorite to win the presidency and the first-term senator who upset her in the primary and cruised to a general election victory. Such a high-profile seat in the Cabinet for Clinton also would be another achievement for the most accomplished former first lady in U.S. history, who has been the first presidential spouse to serve in the Senate and run for the White House herself.

Obama was picking other Cabinet posts as well. Obama has informally selected Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as health secretary and is likely to choose Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security, Democrats said.

Any of the plans could be sidetracked by unexpected glitches in the final vetting process, officials note.

In his blog on the Huffington Post, Russell Simmons made a strong case for Hillary Clinton for as Barack Obama’s secretary of state. Simmons was originally a Hillary supporter for President, before switching over to Obama.

Read Simmons Case for Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State

Read NewsOne’s African American Political Pundit Case Against Hillary CLinton for Secretary of State

Read About Russell Simmons and Others From The Hip Hp Generation reacting to Obama’s Victory

From the African American Political Pundit

Tell me it’s not true. No Hillary Rodham Clinton has not emerged as a top contender to be Secretary of State. I know it is said, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, but why keep a color aroused bigot so close?

But here is the challenge folks, if chosen by Barack, won’t Hillary just gain international experience for two or three years, create on diversion, disagree with Obama on a policy issue, resign as Secretary of State, and run against him in 2012? The PUMA group would love it.

One also has to wonder why Barack Obama would nominate Clinton, who voted to authorize the war in Iraq? Would she be able to send the message of change throughout America and around the world? I wonder if Hillary was coming clean with Barack obama about her lies during the primaries about her coming under sniper fire in Bosnia?

If Obama is going to select her, he probably needs to watch the television footage showing otherwise. The fact of the matter is Hillary Clinton has no foreign policy experience. She traveled with her husband, shaking hands and smiling.

According to Our Black Planet Poll, 54% of African Americans would be happy to see Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State

Read the rest here

During her own White House campaign, the New York senator criticized China for its crackdown on protesters in Tibet and urged President George W. Bush to skip the Olympics in Beijing. Her campaign was embarrassed by reports that her husband’s foundation had raised money from a Chinese Internet company that posted an online government “Most Wanted” notice seeking information on Tibetan human-rights activists that may have been involved in the demonstrations.

Hillary Clinton has campaigned as a champion of workers’ rights. This year, Brazilian labor inspectors found what they called “degrading” living conditions for sugar cane workers employed by an ethanol company in which Bill Clinton invested.

In the Senate, Clinton was an outspoken critic of a proposed deal under which a Dubai company planned to buy a British business that helped run six major U.S. ports. The company, DP World, privately sought Bill Clinton’s advice about how to respond to the controversy over the port plan, which later was abandoned.

Obama met with Hillary Clinton on Thursday at his headquarters in Chicago, and some Democrats were enthusiastic amid speculation the pair discussed the job of secretary of state. She declined Friday to say anything about the matter, and Obama is understood to be considering other candidates as his top diplomat, including Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

Bill Clinton’s fundraising for his presidential library and charitable activities also could pose additional headaches for his wife if he selects her for the job.

Since leaving the White House in early 2001, Bill Clinton has raised at least $353 million for the William J. Clinton Foundation, which finances his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., as well as his global anti-AIDS initiative and other charitable efforts.

The former president has raised money overseas beyond the Chinese Internet company’s contributions: from the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar, The New York Times reported last year.

His foundation reaped millions of dollars from Canadian mining tycoon Frank Giustra, and Clinton accompanied Giustra on a 2005 trip to Kazakhstan, whose human-rights record Hillary Clinton had criticized, the newspaper reported. The pair met with Kazakhstan’s president, and within days Giustra’s company landed preliminary agreements giving it rights to buy into uranium projects controlled by a Kazakhstan state-owned enterprise. Clinton said he had nothing to do with the deal.

Louis Freeh, the FBI director under the former president, said Clinton sought a library donation from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah during a discussion of the investigation into the deadly 1996 bombing of Khobar Towers U.S. military dormitory in Saudi Arabia.

Freeh wrote in his book “My FBI” that the FBI was trying to get Abdullah to let the FBI question suspects the Saudi kingdom had in custody and that Clinton failed to pressure Abdullah.

Clinton denied Freeh’s account, and has said his business dealings and foundation fundraising pose no political conflicts for his wife. The former president has so far refused to identify donors to his foundation.

Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, declined to comment on any potential difficulties that Clinton’s activities could pose for his wife should she become secretary of state or whether the former president would alter any of his fundraising or other activities to avoid potential conflicts.

The Clintons have taken in more than $100 million since leaving the White House, thanks in large part to six-figure speaking fees charged by the former president and to his book royalties and partnership with Yucaipa Global Opportunities Fund, a Los Angeles-based investment firm founded by a longtime Clinton fundraiser.

Bill Clinton has cultivated the image of a senior statesman since leaving the White House and often makes speeches abroad. That role could be diminished if his wife were representing the Obama administration on international issues.

In a 6,400-word speech in London in March 2006, the former president laid out his views on a variety of world issues, including the Middle East peace process. Buried in the lengthy address were a few lines that could make a White House press office rush for damage control.

“The Palestinians are younger and poorer today than they were when we started the peace process in 1993,” he said. “And I have never met a single poor Palestinian anywhere in the world except in the Palestinian territories. Every single Palestinian I know in America is a millionaire or a college professor, and I say that with deep respect, but when there is a conflict, when there is an absence of security, there is always an absence of opportunity.”

From the Huffington Post:

“President-elect Barack Obama offered Sen. Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting Thursday in Chicago, according to two senior Democratic officials. She requested time to consider the offer, the officials said.”

Read the full post here.

A STRIPED PANTS-SUIT FOR HILLARY?….Al Kamen reports today on “increasing chatter” that maybe Barack Obama will offer the position of Secretary of State to Hillary Clinton. In fairness, chatter is what Kamen’s column is all about, but still, you have to wonder: what the hell is that supposed to mean? Is this chatter from people who might actually have Obama’s ear? Chatter from bored think tankers at cocktail parties? Chatter from the blogosphere? What?

This is really ridiculous. There’s exactly zero evidence for Kamen’s contention that “healing remaining divisions” is any kind of issue at all within the Democratic Party. As near as I can tell, the party is virtually rapturous these days, Clinton supporters are fully on board with Obama as president, and there’s no reason to think Hillary Clinton would want to be Secretary of State even if Obama offered her the job. The whole thing is crazy.

But — psst. You know what I heard?

Click here to find out.

Colin Powell, once rumored to be running for president himself, is a moderate in his beliefs which may assure voters that Barack Obama is similarly steady. Although he served as Secretary of State with the most partisan administration in years, Powell was never nearly as staunch in his loyalty to the Bush doctrine.

From CNN:

Powell, a retired U.S. general and a Republican, was once seen as a possible presidential candidate himself.

Powell said he questioned Sen. John McCain’s judgment in picking Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate because he doesn’t think she is ready to be president.

He also said he was disappointed with some of McCain’s campaign tactics, such as bringing up Obama’s ties to former 1960s radical Bill Ayers.

Watch Colin Powell Endorse Barack Obama