Foggybottom Watch: Hillary Edition

November 20th, 2008

I'm going to call my Hillary-Secretary-of-State-Watch, Foggybottom Watch: Hillary Edition from here on out. For anyone who doesn't get the reference, the State Dept. is a few blocks from the White House in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Anyway, here's some more evidence that Sen. Clinton was offered SecState last Thursday by President-elect Obama (or, as I believe, he called her to a meeting to honor the June Deal,) and she does want it and is actively cooperating with the vetting process:

Hillary Clinton's campaign debt, still hovering at over $7 million (down from $21 million in May) would be best settled before she entered the State Department as its top officer. She has several venues wherein this could be accomplished, and it would not preclude her from the office, but the potential conflicts are too risky. Yesterday, several pundits were saying if she is serious about SecState, watch for a last minute pitch for donations. And, here it is: Last Minute Pitch From Clinton

Coupled with a glowing review of how well Health Care Reform is already going from the Wall Street Journal today, I'd say the narrative is headed back to pro-Hillary. I personally don't believe it was ever going away from her, it's just that a little reality set in after everyone fell in love with the idea at first. Every day since the Hillary rumors broke, I've seen proactive steps from Camp Clinton. The family consult, Bill agreeing to be vetted, lawyers hired, and now, the campaign debt paid down. I would imagine Obama will offer some of his leftover war chest. He'd better, considering he promised he would, and I'm sure that was part of the June Deal, too.

At any rate, today Sen. Clinton made the first pitch for last minute donations to pay off her campaign debt, which is a very clear sign she is cooperating readily with the vetting process, and the transition team.