President Obama unveils his economic team today but the news that's buzzing on everyone's mind is the tentative nomination of America's most famous and powerful woman, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as Secretary of State. Contrary to popular opinion here on the Daily Kos and over at HuffPost, I am convinced that this is an EXTREMELY SMART DECISION on the part of our new President.
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton seen here appearing at their first joint campaign event during the general election.
follow me beyond the jump as I explain why Hillary is a great choice::
For starters, there is not one person: Democrat or Republican; liberal or conservative; black or white; gay or straight; rich or poor (I think you get the point), who can open their mouth and honestly say that Hillary is not qualified for the position of Secretary of State. It's obvious that this mostly negative, knee-jerk kind of reaction from the progressive blogosphere has absolutely nothing to do with whether Hillary is qualified for the job or not or even whether it's in the best interest of the country to have her in that position or not, but it seems rather to be all based on the fact that they dislike her personality. Some people just love to beat up on Hillary--once it was the far right now it's mostly from the left--and as they say, bad habits die hard. Tell me what is it about Hillary that scares you?
"A WOMAN'S WORTH"
Whatever you think of Hillary, there is no discounting the fact that she has become a national icon for women. Her run for the Presidency was no less historic than Barack Obama's and she came pretty darn close. She has inspired and garnered the respect of women (and men) right across the political spectrum - even Republicans now speak fondly of her. She is no longer the polarizing lighting rod from the 90s. Her political stock has risen considerably. With her 18 million cracks in the marble ceiling, she is the de facto leader of half of the Democratic party. Many women saw their hopes rise and fall with her in the primaries and, especially after the embarrassment of Sarah Palin, many women are desperate for a national figure to look up to again and Hillary is ready to assume that role as she always has.
It is little acknowledged, but Hillary was probably the greatest asset that Obama had in his unlikely journey for the White House. She fought it out with him to the very end. Her tough style of campaigning backed by a formidable political machine basically gave the young senator from Illinois a six months heads up on a grueling General election campaign which was to follow. The day Obama managed to beat Hillary was the day he won the election, McCain didn't stand a chance.
Hillary surprised many when she campaigned hard for Obama in the general election.
Presidents Obama and Clinton seen here at the Reliant Center in Houston visiting Katrina victims. Like his wife, Bill campaigned tirelessly for Obama in the most critical days of the election.
What I find really amazing though is just how two faced some of you are. Remember the 'bring back the Hillary supporters' campaign here on daily kos following the primaries. Remember too when things weren't going as super for Obama and he was virtually tied with McCain in the polls and remember following the Repub. convention when Gov. Kooky had America smitten for a second and they were up in the polls for a while y'all were yelping for Hillary and her husband to hit the trail with Bam to work their magic. Now it's the same mouths who are crying foul at Hillary's nomination basically suggesting it would have been better if our President-elect went on the street and chose any random stranger - anyone but Hillary. You only seem to have use for Hillary and her constituents when its convenient to you. I don't think there is anything she can ever do that will please you folks. I mean, if she went and tattooed Obama's name on her left breast you would still not be pleased.
I just have one plea to make with you: BE REASONABLE. Consider this: when Hillary lost the nomination a lot of her supporters took it very hard and were very bitter indeed. Many of them were charging the Obama camp with sexism and some even threatened to vote for McCain. However, by election day the overwhelming majority of those Hillary voters rallied behind Obama and came out and helped him make history. You bet many of them were still a bit bitter inside. Many of them wished that they were casting their ballots for Hillary instead. However they saw the state of the economy. They realized that Palin was an absolute joke. More importantly they realized that Obama was a man with a plan and that their girl Hillary was now campaigning for him, so even if they were still a little vexed in their heart, they decided to throw their support behind him. If those Hillary voters carried the same bitterness against Obama up until election day that you still hold for Hillary and Bill today, I tell you this: Obama would never have been elected President. McCain could have easily siphoned off Pennsylvania, Ohio and probably New Hampshire not to mention Florida and Indiana which would have been out of the question for us. It would have been a miserable night for all Democrats and we'd all be beating ourselves in the head yet again asking how we managed to blow this one. Anyways there's no need for hindsight analysis now, we all know that Obama made history and that's that. My simple question to those opposing Hillary's nomination is: are you willing to put aside your grudges against the Clintons for once and give Hillary a chance?
When Obama said he was going to change how things were done in Washington he was serious. Appointing Hillary is one of the clearest indication yet that he will remain true to this promise. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but if you think about it carefully you'd understand what I'm talking about. The typical Washington thing to do would have been to keep Hillary out of the cabinet no matter how qualified she was for the sole fact that she was a big rival in the primaries. That's the kind of thing that people like Bush does. The typical Washington style would have been exacting revenge on Joe Liebermann (who rightfully deserves it, I've personally fantasized about slapping him across the face several times) but Obama is bigger than that. He is making real on his promises. It's just hard for some of us to swallow because we are so entrenched in the old way of doing things. How many of you are ready for real change? We talk about change but a part of us want a continuation of the same old ideological divide.
I don't think many of us fully comprehend the rationale behind Obama's nomination of Hillary as Secretary of State now but I guess we will later on. If there is anything that I've learned from this election, it is to trust Obama's judgment. I remember scratching my head after he chose Joe Biden as his VP. It was sort of an anti-climax for me considering all the other possibilities that were out there but it turned out to be probably the most effective VP pick in US Presidential history. Joe simply outclassed Sarah by just being there. He was the perfect guy to round things out for Obama. Obama has a quality that few Presidents have been endowed with: wisdom. America could not have found more excellent hands in these difficult times.