Clinton is a good choice

As someone who voted for Clinton in the Democratic primary, I've been following the recent news about Obama considering her for Secretary of State with great interest. It appears that this is really going to happen (Clinton Is Said to Accept Secretary of State Position, by Peter Baker and Helene Cooper, NYT, 21 November 2008). No doubt there will again be considerable handwringing among those who have already questioned Obama's decisions to bring establishment Democrats into his cabinet - not to mention among those who simply don't like Clinton - but I think it's an excellent move, Lincolnesque in both spirit and political wisdom. If Clinton really accepts, it will similarly show both a readiness for conciliation and a mature assessment of the post-election realities.

Yeah, it's certainly possible it won't work out; in fact there's a finite chance that nothing will work out over the next four years. Few newly-elected Presidents have had to face a pile of shit as deep as the one the US is buried in right now, which moreover appears to be getting deeper by the minute (Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job, The Onion, 5 November 2008). From the tone of some of the discussions I've seen around the web, Obama will have the shortest "honeymoon" period of any President-elect I can remember; seemed like it had already ended with more than 2 months to go before the inauguration. And this was coming from people who voted for him; I don't want to even talk about the shitstorm that's brewing from the extreme Right (although you can get a taste from recent posts at Orcinus if you want).

I'm just saying, Hilary will have a chance to do some good, to be the anti-Condoleezza to Obama's anti-Bush. This could turn out to be an inspired pairing; if it doesn't, well, Secretary of State is not an appointment for life.