From inside Barack Obama’s staff, which had been unusually disciplined regarding message, comes the “leak” that President-elect Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton met to discuss the possibility of Clinton serving as Obama’s Secretary of State. The prospect of Clinton as Secretary of State is very interesting, to say the least, but I am curious about the leak itself. Did Obama authorize the leak to the press? If so, why? If not, how is he going to handle it? As of this writing, it is not clear whether Obama actually offered Clinton the job, or that if he offers her the job, she would accept it. My own feeling is that this press leak was a poor idea. If Obama authorized it, he made a mistake in doing so. If somebody on his staff acted unilaterally, he should fire that person, because he cannot have staff members pursuing their own agendas. Maybe everything will turn out very well, but the situation has needlessly invited the potential for major embarrassment to the incoming administration.
I hope that in the case of all the people who are being considered for any position in the new president’s cabinet, Obama would make certain rules and expectations clear. Something like this:
You are being considered for this important post because I want to have the best cabinet possible, and I believe that you have the intelligence, experience, judgment and temperament to do an outstanding job. Assuming that you take the job, there are certain things we need to remember at all times. You will be the head of the department, but I will be the president and ultimately responsible for all the actions of my administration. Your job is to carry out my policies. I want your honest advice. I do not want you to simply reinforce my own preconceived inclinations, if that is contrary to your own judgment. You can and should argue your case, whether in private conversations with me or in a cabinet meeting. However, I may on occasion decide against your recommendations, and once the decision is made, your job is to help carry out the president’s policies. I welcome private dissent, but if we reach a point where you cannot publicly support my administration’s policies, you should resign. You will choose your own top deputy, subject to my approval. You will have wide latitude regarding how you choose to run your department. The President’s Cabinet is a team of talented individuals, but it must function effectively as a team, and the president’s authority as “head coach” can never be in doubt. To extend the sports analogy for just the moment, I believe in giving credit to the players for our successes, and I will take the responsibility for our failures. However, if and when we reach a point where either you or I decide that it is time for a parting of the ways, I expect the resignation to be quiet and dignified.Back to the subject of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, I think it is possible that she can be a good one, but I also have some nagging doubts about whether or not she will be a good team player, and whether or not her administrative skills are good enough. If she is offered and takes the job, and two years later, President Obama decides that he needs to make a change, will she resign gracefully? I know that Obama was very impressed with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, and I can understand the case for making Hillary Clinton Obama’s Secretary of State, but I have my doubts.
For a long time, my preference for that post has been Bill Richardson. Mr. Richardson has the diplomatic credentials at least equal to those of Mrs. Clinton, along with better administrative experience, and (in my opinion) less political and emotional baggage. While it looks like the job is Clinton’s if she wants it (if the job is not being offered to her, then the press leak was uncharacteristically reckless), I hope that the job ultimately goes to Richardson. If Obama wants to make a political payoff to Clinton, which would be understandable, my suggestion is that he appoint her to fill a vacancy in the federal judiciary, along with the understanding that she would at least receive serious consideration later on for the Supreme Court. If Hillary Clinton is going to be our next Secretary of State, I hope she will be a good one and prove my doubts wrong.
