Six Nominees to Succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State

[DonViejo]

by Michael Tomasky Nov 29, 2012 4:45 AM EST

With opposition to Susan Rice mounting daily, Michael Tomasky proposes six alternative nominees for the top post at Foggy Bottom. Head of the list? The winner of the 2000 election.

Things maybe aren’t looking so great for Susan Rice. The throw-down yesterday by Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who extended the Republican case against Rice back to the Clinton years, is one of those Washington smoke signals, and it’s not a positive one. Let me therefore set aside for a day the question of the merits of Rice and raise another one: Who would make for some credible, interesting, outside-the-box choices to run Foggy Bottom? There are ample non-Rice options that would provide the nation with a strong chief diplomat and would piss off the wingnuts in the bargain. Here are half a dozen.

1. Al Gore.... -snip-

2. Jon Huntsman.... -snip-

3. Richard Lugar.... -snip-

4. Colin Powell....-snip-

5. Dianne Feinstein....-snip-

6. Jim Webb....-snip-

-snip-

Complete article:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/29/six-nominees-to-succeed-hillary-clinton-as-secretary-of-state.html

[still_one]

1. I will leave it to the President to decide

[bemildred]

2. He certainly is getting lots of "advice". nt

[still_one]

7. LOL, that is for sure

[IDoMath]

3. I was looking at Rep Senators

...to find out if there was one he could nominate to flip the "Kerry Ploy" on its head. I only found the senator from Indiana.

But Jon Huntsman..... that would make GOP heads explode.

[Texin]

4. I'd say 3 or 4 out of the six might be acceptable.

I'd pull Dianne Feinstein out because she needs to stay in the Senate. Webb's background would make him a possibility for SecDef. I'm ruling out Powell because he was essentially turned into a shill for the Cheney administration and people haven't forgotten how he facilitated Cheney's and Rumsfield's ginned up war for personal enrichment. Huntsman's served before. I don't know how eager he'd be to rejoin the Obama admin because I don't think he's given up the idea of being his party's nominee. I don't know whether that party will just disappear as the teabaggers continue to drive it, nor do I know if Huntsman or any other 'moderate' thinking individual could muster up support enough to be viable in it at this point in time, which might be his incentive for accepting such a position. Gore IMO is an outlier. I have serious doubts as to whether he could win senate approval with the climate in Washington these days.

I don't understand why someone like Wes Clark isn't being mentioned as a possibility for SOS, SecDef or even CIA chief. Maybe my knowledge about him is deficient, but I would think Clark would have as much - if not more - credentials to serve than Huntsman.

[Fawke Em]

8. Because the press has ALWAYS ignored Wes.

During the 2004 Democratic nomination process, Judy Woodruff went nearly 20 days in late December/early January - on a show dedicated to politics - without mentioning Clark once. Kucninich was mentioned more often than Clark!

[WI_DEM]

5. I would prefer Webb for Sec of Defense.

Gore would be a good selection for SOS, but doubt it would be him.

[Jennicut]

6. I highly doubt Gore or Powell will ever get into politics again.

So I would take those two off the list. Lugar is getting up there in age. An 80 year old when you could have a 48 year old Rice? Traveling the world takes a lot out of you. Just ask Hillary Clinton.
I don't know, I would put her up for a nomination just to spite these idiots. Don't you need a simple majority? Or is putting a hold on the nomination a way to stop it?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

9. Neither SoS nor SoD are political positions.

[LiberalFighter]

10. My assessments

Al Gore is too dull and doesn't have enough energy to do the job.

Jon Huntsman I would consider

Richard Lugar is too old now. Not sure he has enough energy to handle the travel.

Colin Powell is too easily fooled.

Dianne Feinstein I'm not sure

Jim Webb I'm not sure


Overall, of the above Jon Huntsman would IMO be the best.

But, my preference is Dr. Susan Rice.

[Beacool]

11. Huntsman would be a good choice.

If the Republicans hadn't been taken over by the Tea Party kooks, he would have been their best candidate. As a matter of fact, I think that it was either Axelrod or Plouffe who said recently that Huntsman was the Republican they feared the most.

[sadbear]

12. Al Gore and 5 shades of republican?

Go Cheney yourself, Tomasky.

[TwilightGardener]

13. Al Gore--hmm, maybe. Huntsman--already turned on Obama

once, why give this disloyal assclown another chance? Lugar--old. Powell--already did the job, and kind of screwed it up. Feinstein--old. Webb--not trustworthy. Kerry, Rice, Clark, Hagel, Gore would all be OK. Edit to add two more names--Big Dawg and Mike Mullen.

[Arkana]

14. I don't see Kerry on that list.

Huntsman's a non-starter. If he wanted to be the Chinese ambassador again, I'd be fine with that--but the entire State Department? No fucking way.

The article's right about Lugar--too old.

Powell disqualified himself for Cabinet office when he went in front of the UN and lied to their faces about Iraq's weapons capabilities.

Feinstein's too pro-Israel.

Webb? Maybe, but I don't think he's got enough personality to be the country's top diplomat.