Urban Thought Collective

Hillary Clinton reportedly felt snubbed when Barack Obama didn’t ask her to be his vice-presidential running mate. But now that the President-elect has picked her to be his secretary of state, Hillary ought to be glad Barack bypassed her for veep.

Ironically, the man Obama chose to be his V.P. is much more qualified to run the State Department than Hillary Clinton. With eleven years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including four years as chairman of that panel, Joe Biden has more than earned his international relations stripes. During the primaries, Obama dismissed Hillary’s foreign policy experience saying she had mainly performed a ceremonial role as First Lady. But that role is part of why she’s a good pick for secretary of state. There’s no question that Hillary Clinton brings a tangible prestige to world affairs because of her connection to former president Bill Clinton who was respected and well-liked on the global stage.

But the greatest strategic reason for making Hillary Clinton Secretary of State has nothing to do with foreign policy. Because of the close and rancorous primary race it was crucial for President-elect Obama to offer Sen. Clinton an important place in his cabinet. This was necessary to unify the Democratic Party and re-energize the die-hard Hillary supporters whose support of the Obama presidency has been more dutiful than enthusiastic. Moreover, Obama knew that secretary of state is a job that Clinton would be eager to accept. It offers her new challenges and, perhaps more importantly, it provides a unique opportunity to prep for her next presidential bid.

Secretary of state has perhaps the highest profile and greatest prestige of any cabinet post. It also has great autonomy. As vice-president, Clinton could have been enveloped in Obama’s shadow. But as secretary of state she will command the limelight as she travels the globe brokering agreements with foreign leaders. This will make Hillary a much stronger candidate for president when she runs in 2016, after Obama’s second term.

For Obama, having Clinton in this job will also be ideal for the day-to-day running of the White House. Secretary of state, more than any other cabinet official, spends a lot of time outside of the office. Clinton will be off on diplomatic missions for days, even weeks at a time. So, if there is any lingering bad blood between Barack and Hillary (and it would be naïve to think that there is none) then at least they won’t have to be all up in each other’s space every day at work.

That’s what I call a win-win for Barack, Hillary and for the nation as a whole.

Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.

THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!

Cameron Turner is a Los Angeles-area native whose editorials, entertainment news features and audio documentaries have appeared on national radio networks, online and in print for over 20 years.