Hillary Gets That 3am Call After All

Some reasons to pick Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State (in no particular order):

• She is imminently qualified


• To float the idea now and then pass her over (again, like he did for VP) would be a big, unnecessary insult


• As Lyndon Johnson said about J Edgar Hoover: "It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."


• Hillary in the Senate = independent power base; Hillary in the State Department = under Obama's direct control


• Hillary in the State Department = Joe Biden has less chance of steam rolling Obama on foreign relations issues, which he could easily do.


• Women's groups, which are watching warily as more and more Obama appointments go to men, would be somewhat reassured.


• Hillary in the State Department keeps her in check against a primary run in 2012, barring any huge bungles by Obama.


• Establishing a tradition of granting Sec of State to a woman (Albright, Rice, (Powell), Clinton... would be a serious punch to that "highest, hardest glass ceiling."


• Hillary would get a graceful exit from the Senate, which has always been a stepping stone to her, and the Clinton legacy would be intact, in fact she might be able to put a shine back on it.


• I'll say it again: She is imminently qualified. If she is qualified to be President of the United States, she is qualified to be Secretary of State.


• If Nancy Pelosi's call to Obama to "govern from the center" is being heeded, who better to be his right hand in the State department than a confirmed moderate?


• She'll still be the one that gets the call at 3AM.