I hope John Kerry becomes Secretary of State.

[Eric J in MN]

Kerry is one of the symbols of the Democratic Party.

If he gets that prestigious job, it will be good for the image of the party.

[Lumpsum]

1. If Obama wants to keep his center-right image and not alienate the right

He won't hire Kerry.

But then again, he hired Rahm and pissed off a lot of repukes. So who knows.

I'd still rather see Richardson get the job.

[Eric J in MN]

3. Bill Richardson would be fine, too. NT

NT

[Mass]

4. Well, he was not elected to rule with Republicans. If you are a Republican, that explains a lot.

The GOP has f*ed up the country for the last 8 years, so who needs their advice.

[Lumpsum]

7. I agree, we don't need their advice.

Unfortunately, Obama disagrees.

[Mass]

8. No, Obama wants the advice of those who want to work with him, and those will accept

the SoS he chooses (and other cabinet members).

[MercutioATC]

9. Actually, he WAS elected to "rule" with Republicans.

...and I think "govern" would be a better word....or simply "lead"...


He promised inclusiveness. That's one of the reasons he was elected. You don't do that by alienating 40+ percent of the country.

Besides, no sensible leader surrounds themself with yes-men. The input of intelligent conflicting views (within reason) are key to making good decisions.

[Motown_Johnny]

14. I agree RIchardson is a better choice... Kerry can replace Reid IMO

[John Q. Citizen]

2. He would also be good pushing progressive legislation through the Senate. So either way,

we can't go wrong.

He would be a very capable SS.

[Lumpsum]

5. I think Kerry is more valuable in Senate.

Along side Hillary, helping pass through legislation.

When it comes to health care, Obama is going to need fighters like Hillary and Kerry in the senate to help push it through.

[Mass]

6. Kerry will be very involved in foreign policy and very influencial, whether as head of the SFRC or

as SoS.

[democrattotheend]

10. Me too

I'm not sure I buy your line of reasoning, but I think Kerry would make a great SOS and he deserves it. He's had Obama's back from the beginning.

[IndyOp]

11. Kerry promised during the primary for Mass Senate that he would not leave the Senate.

Kennedy is likely to step down within the next year or so and Kerry will become Senior Senator from Massachusetts. Massachusetts voters have been very, very good to the Democratic Party and they don't deserve to lose both of their experienced Senators within a short time period.

Just MHO...

[Hieronymus]

12. Kerry is popular, attractive, speaks French, and probably at least one other

language. I think he'd be a good pick for Secretary of State.

[TayTay]

13. The daunting problems facing US foreign policy will require a team

The Secretary of State will have to be backed up by the President. This is NOT what happened in the Bush years. Colin Powell was used by the Bush Administration to provide cover. The real power in foreign policy was held in the Defense Department by Donald Rumsfeld and by VP Cheney.

I want a State Department that is given the power to negotiate on behalf of the United States, not something treated as a nuisance and fed small bones to keep it out of the way of the military.

All good hands on deck for thie one. John Kerry, whether in the State Dept or at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Chair will be one of those hands. Bill Richardson, who has Ambassaorial experience will be one of those hands. Dick Lugar, one of the only Republicans I even remotely respect in this area will also be one of those hands. There are lots of others who understand the danger spots and will not jump to war first, negotiations second. We need them all.

We have an enormous amount of work to do to repair the horrific damage done to the policies and image of the U.S. abroad. We must close Guantanamo, deal with huge threats in the Middle East, North Korean and Russia and other business. We have to let the rest of the world know that the U.S. will not use torture and will obey the Geneva Conventions and be true to our own laws. This has nothing to do with "charisma" or personality attacks based on who we think our "favorites" are. This is deadly serious business.

I want President-Elect Obama to work through State for diplomatic reasons and deeply involve the Congress in any decisions made. That would be a new day a-dawning in America for me.