IceTech
12/02/08, 02:08 AM
By nominating Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, President-elect Obama has proven himself as the centrist and pragmatic leader he spent 21 months campaigning on. At first I was a bit taken aback by this considering the long primary fight and tension that must still exist between the two former rivals. However, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.
It has always been my belief that Obama would govern more from the center than many on the right initially feared. It is true that Obama likely won the Democratic nomination based on his appeal to the left wing of the party (his initial stance against the war, diplomatic rhetoric, etc.). But since he clinched the nomination in June he has moved closer to the political center. This was first revealed by his vote on granting telecom companies immunity from lawsuits over FISA and his support of lifting the D.C. gun ban.
Hillary Clinton campaigned like a hawk on foreign policy issues. She did not back down from her vote to authorize the Iraq war, she scolded Obama for his stance on meeting foreign leaders, and even claimed that if Iran attacked Israel we would be able to "totally obliterate" them. After running 18 months against Clinton, it does seem to undercut Obama's message of change by considering her as Secretary of State. However, ultimately Obama will be Commander in Chief and can utilize Clinton's abilities as he sees fit.
This leads me to believe that Obama will (at least initially) govern as a centrist. He has recruited a significant amount of members from President Clinton's team. The most notable being former Clinton adviser Rahm Emanuel as Obama's chief of staff and former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta to oversee Obama's transition team. Putting Hillary on as Secretary of State would be a next logical step in solidifying this catalyst.
It has always been my belief that Obama would govern more from the center than many on the right initially feared. It is true that Obama likely won the Democratic nomination based on his appeal to the left wing of the party (his initial stance against the war, diplomatic rhetoric, etc.). But since he clinched the nomination in June he has moved closer to the political center. This was first revealed by his vote on granting telecom companies immunity from lawsuits over FISA and his support of lifting the D.C. gun ban.
Hillary Clinton campaigned like a hawk on foreign policy issues. She did not back down from her vote to authorize the Iraq war, she scolded Obama for his stance on meeting foreign leaders, and even claimed that if Iran attacked Israel we would be able to "totally obliterate" them. After running 18 months against Clinton, it does seem to undercut Obama's message of change by considering her as Secretary of State. However, ultimately Obama will be Commander in Chief and can utilize Clinton's abilities as he sees fit.
This leads me to believe that Obama will (at least initially) govern as a centrist. He has recruited a significant amount of members from President Clinton's team. The most notable being former Clinton adviser Rahm Emanuel as Obama's chief of staff and former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta to oversee Obama's transition team. Putting Hillary on as Secretary of State would be a next logical step in solidifying this catalyst.