With all the rumors swirling about President-elect Barack Obama offering Hillary Clinton the job of Secretary of State, I’m left with one question: Why? There is no doubt in my mind that Senator Clinton is a hardworking, highly intelligent and highly driven individual, however her taking over the “first amongst equals” position in the new cabinet seems to have some glaring drawbacks.

For starters, Hillary Clinton is a drama magnet when it comes to press coverage. This is not necessarily her fault. The press tends to construct its own narratives regarding public officials which then in turn are very difficult to break as time goes on and more examples of the pre-existing, self-fulfilling storyline are piled on. However, the very nature of the bitter, former rivalry between Senator Clinton and President-elect Obama during the primaries is highly dramatic in and of itself and the drama-tinged press coverage of their working relationship could prove a major distraction for an administration that needs to succeed during a very difficult time in American history.

Secondly, I simply don’t believe Hillary Clinton is the most qualified person for this job. While the former First Lady has unquestionably polished her foreign policy credentials during her time in the United States Senate to the point where she can be considered competent in the area, there are still much more experienced people hovering around the Democratic foreign policy establishment, most notably Richard Holbrooke and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. We’re talking about the difference between above average (Clinton) & outstanding (Holbrooke or Richardson) as far as the respective depths of knowledge and personal relationships with diplomats around the globe are concerned with these candidates. As trying as the coming years will be in regards to foreign policy, it stands to reason that the incoming administration should choose the absolutely most qualified individual available to shepherd our Department of State.

Lastly, after watching the Clinton campaign for President this year throughout the Democratic primary season, I’m left with an unfortunate conclusion; Hillary Clinton’s talents do not lie in managing a bureaucracy. I mean, let’s face it. She should have won. Senator Clinton was one of the most famous people in the world coming into the elections of 2008, yet made many, many costly mistakes which doomed her campaign to lose to a previously virtually unknown Senator from Illinois, who had been a State Senator barely three years before he started running for President. Amongst these errors were a complete underestimation of her opponent (something you do not want to do in foreign affairs, by the way), a seeming ignorance as to the importance of campaigning hard in caucus states throughout the primary (which probably more than any other factor, sunk her battleship), and a lack of discipline both in her own message and that of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, that cost her dearly.

Having lived in New York and voted for Mrs. Clinton as my United States Senator, I know what an excellent and tireless legislator she has been for that state. It seems to me that this is where her true talents lie; working within a deliberative body with other Senators and managing a reasonable sized staff in order to accomplish policy objectives that benefit both her home state and the nation.

You can takepart in learning more about foreign relations around the world by checking out Foreign Affairs online.

LINKS:

Yahoo! News (AP): Clinton to help Hillary get State job

ABC News: Political Punch: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

International Herald Tribune: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton