What is the legitimate upside to having Hillary Clinton at the State Department? I keep trying to come up with the best case scenario, but I just can’t convince myself. It’s being sold as a bold move, but it looks more like a possible castration.
Meanwhile, several sources said [Ret. Gen. Jim] Jones has moved to the top of the list to be Obama’s national security adviser and the sides are in advanced talks. Sources familiar with the talks said Obama is considering expanding the scope of the job to give the adviser the kind of authority once wielded by powerful figures like Henry Kissinger.
If Obama moves national security policy inside the White House a la Richard Nixon then the State Department won’t be worth a warm bucket of spit. Clinton will be nothing more than a national cheerleader with no platform to differ publicly from the Obama administration and no pathway for a primary challenge. If the idea is to neuter Clinton, then this move might make sense. The problem is that Lanny Davis lives and breathes, and the Clintons will be an unrelenting pain in the ass.
