Biden offered SecState? Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The LA Times is reporting that Jill Biden made a slip on Oprah and said that Vice President (then -elect) Biden was offered a choice to be either Secretary of State or VP, which apparently prompted Biden to shush his wife on-set, in front of Oprah. Biden's staff are stalwartly denying that any such offer was made, and asserting that the only offer made was VP. The LA Times implies this is a direct insult to Hillary Clinton, which I doubt. They further claim this means Obama may have to deal with competing interests in his Cabinet (duh) because of having "two Secretaries of State."

First of all, let me give an opinion: If it were the other way around -- which it easily could have been -- with Hillary as VP and Joe as SecState, Obama would have to deal with the problem of having two presidents, a problem Joe Biden does not really pose. Hillary Clinton had an herculean campaign and political image surrounding her during the election cycle, something Joe Biden did not, although he was a powerful and respected Senator. 2nd fiddle needs to go to a 2nd fiddle player.

As I have said many times, I am certain in my bones that Obama and Hillary made a very definite deal back in June, it was Obama who initiated it, and Hillary who dictated the terms. Until the Democratic Convention in August, pudits be damned, Hillary Clinton had ample political clout in the Democratic party to get just about any concession she wanted. She had both cause and clout to challenge Obama all the way to the floor vote, and possibly could have walked away the nominee, although a divisive and contentious one if it had played that way, which obviously is why she chose another path. Regardless, Clinton had the power to make or break Obama -- ironically, after she lost the delegate battle in June. Joe Biden had no such capital, dropped out of the 2008 contest very early, and held his endorsement very late in the process; in fact, the general buzz seemed to be that Biden would endorse Clinton as the two were seen together quite frequently over the course of the Democratic primaries. In retrospect, it seems to me that Biden endorsed whoever offered him a spot in the new administration. As late as early May, Biden was still seen traveling with Clinton, and had not endorsed anyone.

Second, let's look at a brief timeline. The press corps went wild on June 5th when they were shut out of a private meeting between Obama and Clinton on June 5th. Sen. Dianne Feinstein hosted the meeting in her D.C. home, and the details of this meeting have never been revealed. However, the next day, June 6th, Obama ditched his entourage again and is rumored to have attended the 56th Bilderberg meeting with Sen. Clinton. (For anyone who does not know, the Bilderberg Group is one of the main organizations considered by conspiracy theorists to be one of the main "Illuminati" groups, or the "secret masters" of the modern world. They inspired Chris Carter's popular show The X-Files.) So, Hillary cut a deal for herself with Obama, and sealed the deal by introducing him to the "secret masters." Think I'm crazy? Bill Clinton is a Mason and a known Bilderberger. Hillary is also a Bilberberger and a Mason (Order of the Eastern Star.) It is rumored that Obama is 32nd degree Prince Hall Mason, of the black Masonic caucus in the US, but which is a splinter group, and not fully integrated into Masonry. Looks like Bill & Hillary took care of that hurdle, too.

June 7th, the next day, is the day Clinton gave her concession speech and endorsed Obama. Obama and Clinton had another private meeting in June 25th, the day before the "Unity Rally," in Unity, NH. This meeting was not cloaked in the same secrecy and covered in blinds to the media like the early June meetings, and was probably simply a strategic meeting to prepare for the rally. Obama and Clinton had another "secret" meeting on November 12th, where it is now known Obama offered her the Secretary of State post, which was officially announced on December 1st, a traditional date for Cabinet announcements.

Biden and Obama had no known meetings until late July. He was announced as obama's running mate on July 23rd, and promptly slipped back into obscurity, preparing to become a footnote of history. It was well known that John Kerry, Howard Dean and Bill Richardson were all interested in Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton remained mum on the entire subject of her involvement with Obama's administration, and Biden was considered a dark horse even for VP, until the announcement. It should be clear, even to the casual observer, the Obama and Clinton together orchestrated the assembly of Obama's Cabinet, and the procedures by which the Democratic nomination and general election campaign would be conducted. By the end of the Democratic Convention, Obama, Biden and Clinton together formed a potent triumvirate that ultimately delivered the White House to Obama and Democrats, and everyone got their just desserts. I would opine that Biden and Clinton were both in consideration for both positions, but it was more likely Hillary who turned down the VP slot in favor of Secretary of State, automatically narrowing the choices for Biden. Thus, the Biden shush on Oprah. "No, no, let's not open that can of worms."