What about John Kerry for Sec Def?

[MadBadger]

We all had him pegged as Secretary of State IF he was going to be something in the Obama administration. But what about him instead as Secretary of Defense? I feel like the Secretary of State is not going to matter as much (Still be important of course), because Joe Biden will dominate that field as VP. Sooooo, what about Kerry for Secretary of Defense. I kinda think hed be a good fit there.

[nichomachus]

1. Yeah, let's take all the good Dems out of the Senate

We can whittle that majority down to a 49-seat minority in no time.

We're losing Obama and Biden
Hillary?
Kerry?
Ted isn't in good health

That's a pretty powerful punch to take out of the Senate all at once -- and throw the seats open to either gubernatorial appointments or special elections.

[MadBadger]

5. You do realize that we replace those Senators...right?

Not to mention, there a possibility that he wants to be in the administration.

[nichomachus]

13. No, WE don't replace the senators -- voters and governors do

Some of them could be Republicans. If either Kerry or Kennedy go, you might just see Mittens tossing his hat in the ring. We can't assume they're going to be all Dems. The GOP will go balls to the wall trying to get their people into those seats.

[VeraAgnes]

2. NO!

Wesley Clark or Colin Powell gets my support!

[bdamomma]

3. I think Wes Clarke would be great, but he is not eligible yet I think

in 2010 he is eligible.

[SIMPLYB1980]

4. SOD would be a good position for him.

He understands more about the issues that would come before him as SOD than any other Democrat I can think of.

[beachmom]

6. No, because of his history.

It would never work. He protested the war, he gave that historic testimony before the SFRC in 1971. He is a patriot, but the military brass will always be uneasy with him because of that. It is not a good fit.

My take is that he will either be SoS or chairman of the SFRC. Both are great choices.

[MadBadger]

7. Id rather him be Chairman of the SFRC, it just seems like he wants to be in the Administration.

[beachmom]

11. He'll get over it. Really, Chairman of the SFRC is such a great thing for him.

I mean, this is the same committee he gave that historic testimony to. Now, with the U.S. in two wars, he will chair that committee. And believe me, I am sure President Obama will have him on speed dial. He listened to Sen. Kerry about public financing, and went with Kerry's Iraq plan for the campaign. Sec. of State is not the only path toward influence on the administration.

Look, we don't know what is going to happen. But I have prepared myself for Kerry being SoS or Chairman of the SFRC. Both are great jobs and ideal for him.

[blm]

18. Don't believe the spin from the media drama queens who repeat 'Dem officials' once again

spinning against Kerry, no matter WHAT the story. Establishment powerstructure in our party hates Kerry as much as BushInc does. They really don't WANT any open government lawmaker in any position where they can access documents that the powerful want hidden.

[Lumpsum]

8. NO. Kerry for SoS.

Anything to keep Hillary out of SoS.

[MadBadger]

9. Well Bill Richardson could do that easily

[Lumpsum]

29. I'm all for Richardson as SoS too. nt

[bdamomma]

10. I thought Richardson would be a good pick for SOS

he has experience as or was an ambassador. His demeanor is cool too.

[Mass]

12. That would make difficult confirmation hearings, I think.

He would probably be great in the job, but a lot of military did not forgive him for his anti-war actions. Not sure Obama would want to have a rocky confirmation hearing when there are other choices.

My guess is that he will be SoS or SFRC chair, both jobs with potentially significant influence on foreign relations.

[JI7]

25. true, but it's too bad that some draft dodging war monger coward

would be seen as better for the job than someone who actually served in combat and became critical of what most thinking people know was a mistake that turned into a disaster.

[grantcart]

14. I prefer somebody with hawkish credentials in SOD so that they can

cut the expensive and useless exotic weapon systems or developmental aircraft (like the Osprey).

I believe that this can only be done with somebody with excellent Defense credentials like Senator Hagel or General Clark.

[Kalyke]

15. Are we going to just raid the entire Senate?

Good God... there are far more experienced people for these cabinet positions besides senators! People who did something BESIDES politics for years.

:eyes:

[JI7]

16. NO, if Kerry isn't going to be SOS then he should remain in Senate and Chair

the SFRC

[Thrill]

17. I think Hagel is going to be Sec of Defense. Thats the only prediction

I'll make in the entire cabinet. I feel good about that one

[politicasista]

19. No, he ain't a people person and ain't tough enough

:sarcasm:

[MarjorieG]

20. Interesting to have a reluctant warrior, concerned with vets rights, as Sec of Defense.

[politicasista]

22. Right

Excuse the sarcasm. I feel like it today. :hi:

[democrattotheend]

21. I was thinking about that this morning

And I think that actually makes more sense for him than State in some ways. I love the idea of Kerry for SecDef because the SecDef is usually more hawkish than the president but Kerry's not a hawk.

[TexasObserver]

23. I like John in the senate, running foreign relations committee

[Phx_Dem]

24. Or National Security Advisor?

[CADEMOCRAT7]

26. I would like Richard Danzig as Sec. of Def. and Susan Rice as National Security Adviser. nt

[SuperTrouper]

27. Obama will keep Gates.

[liberalpragmatist]

28. Honestly, Hillary as DefSec and Kerry at State would make more sense

It fits their portfolios more and would align better with Obama's views. There's a lot of overlap between the foreign policy aides of Kerry and Obama and they have very similar views on most of the major issues. Hillary, on the other hand, has her own large body of people and has views that tend to be more hawkish. She also doesn't have a major portfolio in foreign policy.

Hillary would be a great DefSec, on the other hand. She's very knowledgeable about military issues and is much better-liked by the military brass than Bill was. It would also be a ground-breaking role for her, as the first woman Secretary of Defense.

Honestly, I'm a little baffled by this leak that she may be Secretary of State. I'm all for the team of rivals thing and I trust Obama's judgment, but I have to admit there seem to be lots of potential kinks.

[Fabio]

32. I completely agree.

we will see where Gates washes out before too long.

[liberalpragmatist]

34. Gates is likely to only stay for a year anyway

The speculation is that Gates will stay for a year in a transitional role -- overseeing redeployment from Iraq to Afghanistan and smoothing over relations between Obama and the Pentagon (who very much like Gates).

The idea is that after a year, Obama will appoint someone new to the position -- possibly a deputy like Richard Danzig -- or someone else.

So even IF Gates stays for a year, Hillary could easily be picked next year to succeed him. And it would give her a year in which she could play a major role in health care and domestic policy too.

We'll see. I was inclined to ignore all this chatter about Hillary as SOS because my instinct is block out of most of this chatter as idle speculation -- but at this point, the chatter is too loud to ignore. And while the claims may be somewhat overblown (I *highly* doubt the position has actually been offered as HuffPost and CNN claim), it does seem like there's something to them.

[styersc]

30. Gates is going to remain at Defense until we are out of Iraq.

Kerry will be National Security Advisor if anything in the administration. I'd rather see some of our heavy hitters stay in the Senate to get done what needs to be done there.

[Fabio]

31. too much history from the anti-war movement

I think the shame of this whole HRC-Kerry SOS thing is that I think a more efficient use of talent and resources would be HRC at Defense -- even if she waits 12 months -- and JK at SOS. She's been on armed services for 8 years and he's been on SFRC for like 20+.

[DU GrovelBot]

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