Hillary: Secretary Of State

[Chinahand]

Obama has made Hillary Secretary of State - will she help salvage the US's reputation abroad, or drag it even further down?

 

Plus does it make a Hillary 2012 or 2016 more or less likely?

 

My initial view she'll be greeted favourably, but its a messy job and could scupper her political career - she'll have blood on her hands in 4 years hand no matter how benign Obama is - I'm not necessarily saying that will be a bad thing, but her reputation will now be based partly on world politics and that is well beyond her (or anyone else's) ability to control!

[Lonan3]

I think most people will welcome her appointment and take the view that her husband's knowledge of foreign policy decisions (an attempt to avoid the word 'affairs'!) will be of considerable benefit - both to her and to the new administration in general.

[Stu Peters]

And so it begins...

 

The horse-trading with those who helped to get Obama into the White House, regardless of their abilities was inevitable I suppose. Next he'll begin to moderate and dilute some of his election promises. Then the contributing corporations will be looking for payback...

 

American politics is a farce. The fact that they extol their system as a shining light of democratic process is laughable.

[Chinahand]

I think most people will ... take the view that her husband's knowledge of foreign policy decisions (an attempt to avoid the word 'affairs'!) will be of considerable benefit - both to her and to the new administration in general.

Maybe - but the Clinton administrations foreign policy decisions were poorly made.

 

I thought this review of Zbigniew Brzezinski's book "Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower" interesting.

 

 

In the end, ... Mr. Clinton's ''casual and politically opportunistic style of decision-making was not conducive to strategic clarity, and his faith in the historical determinism of globalization made such a strategy seem unnecessary.''

 

By 1995, Mr. Brzezinski goes on, America's ''global status was probably at its peak,'' but a ''multiplicity of complex'' situations that had surfaced in the wake of the cold war's end had metastasized: ''As a result, the global totem-pole atop which Clinton stood tall rested on shaky ground.''

 

Earlier Brzezinski praises Clinton's work in the Balkans - but he dithered for ages and allowed the crisis to escalate before too late intervening. And his Middle East work came to nothing.

 

Bill Clinton was all personality politics - something that doesn't rest well with Hillary - it'll be interesting. She's staked her reputation on being a hawk, and Obama needs to show he can be a strong international leader. That could be a dangerous combination in a crisis.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

American politics is a farce. The fact that they extol their system as a shining light of democratic process is laughable.

 

Quite right, but so many are brainwashed into believing that their form of government is the best and that the individual can make a difference. But if we are talking about democracy then the UK and Isle of Man government's are even more farcical. Though I think the British and Manx are a lot less proud of their governments and the system of government.

[Pat Ayres]

Brilliant move, put her in charge of waging wars, or as the Americans call it 'foreign policy'. She screws up because of the lack of guidance from Bush et al. Result; no chance of nomination in 2012 and Obama walks tall and leaves himself at least 12 months to come up with an answer to Iraq.

That's what I call politics.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

Bill Clinton was all personality politics - something that doesn't rest well with Hillary - it'll be interesting. She's staked her reputation on being a hawk, and Obama needs to show he can be a strong international leader. That could be a dangerous combination in a crisis.

 

Would it not be simplistic to just assume that if she is still a hawk then America's reputation would be remain as it is or get worse? Though saying that it would take a hell of a lot for the U.S. to be seen in a different light than it is currently by those who hate it.

 

The less interventionist the U.S. is the better, but that has to be said about all nation states. Is she has hawklike (interventionist) beliefs as to how the U.S. should behave then yes I think the reputation of the U.S. will get worse.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

What would be the alternatives to Hilary Clinton?

 

Just to add, I suppose the term 'intervention' would need to qualified. But I certainly think someone who is less inclined to be aggressive is better for the U.S.A. But I don't know her stance on foreign policy enough to make a good guess as to what she would be like.