Clinton’s ascent to Cabinet post is applauded left to right
Across political spectrum, she’s called a fine fit at State
WASHINGTON — The unlikely political journey of Hillary Rodham Clinton will now likely take her around the world as secretary of state when Barack Obama becomes president, as he announced the nomination of his onetime campaign rival Monday in a move that was lauded by everyone from her husband — the former president — to arch-conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh.
Clinton, a Democrat who has represented New York in the Senate for eight years, will relinquish her seat as a senator after the Senate votes to confirm her as secretary of state, said her spokesman, Philippe Reines.
Only months after losing a bruising fight with Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton will join a bipartisan, big-name foreign policy and homeland security team that the president-elect unveiled at a news conference in Chicago.
Robert M. Gates, a Republican appointed by President Bush two years ago, will continue as secretary of defense. Retired Gen. James L. Jones, a former Marine commandant, will serve as national security adviser, and Obama foreign policy adviser Susan E. Rice will become ambassador to the United Nations.
Eric H. Holder Jr., who served as assistant attorney general under President Bill Clinton, was nominated as attorney general, and Arizona Gov. Janet A. Napolitano will become secretary of homeland security. All of those appointments, save for that of Jones, must be confirmed by the Senate.
“I assembled this team because I am a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions,” Obama said. “I think that’s how the best decisions are made.”
Noting that “groupthink” was one of the dangers that his predecessors sometimes fell into, the president-elect said he will be welcoming vigorous debate within his foreign policy team.
“But understand, I will be setting policy as president,” Obama said. “I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I will expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made.”
Introducing Clinton, Obama said: “She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world’s leaders, who will command respect in every capital, and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world.”
Clinton thanked New Yorkers for allowing her to serve in the Senate but added: “I believe the best way to continue serving my country is to join President- elect Obama, Vice President- elect [Joe] Biden, the leaders here and the dedicated public servants of the State Department on behalf of our nation at this defining moment.”
Her nomination as secretary of state caps a remarkable two years for the former first lady, who began 2007 as the heavy favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Obama upended that plan in a sometimes bitter campaign in which a Clinton ad questioned her rival’s readiness to respond to a “3 a. m. phone call” about an international emergency.
Now it is quite possible that it would be Clinton calling Obama in the middle of the night with urgent news from overseas. And while such a scenario would have been seen as fanciful only months ago, Clinton’s appointment won widespread praise Monday from across the political spectrum.
Bill Clinton, who agreed to disclose the donors to his presidential library as one of the preconditions allowing his wife to take the job, expressed enormous pride in his wife.
“She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America’s image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities,” the former president said.
Outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a Republican, also praised the appointment.
“I think that she will bring enormous energy and intellect and skill to the position,” Rice said during a news conference in London. “Most important, I know her to be somebody who has what you need most in this job, which is a deep love for the United States of America.”
Retiring Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., who has served for 30 years on the Armed Services Committee, said the appointment of Obama’s national security team “instills great confidence at home and abroad and further strengthens the growing respect for the president-elect’s courage and ability to exercise sound judgment.”
The former first lady brings to the job a foreign policy profile that — much like that of Gates and Jones — appears to be more conservative than the one Obama spelled out during his campaign.
Clinton voted for the 2002 resolution authorizing the Iraq War, and Obama, although he was not in the Senate at the time, opposed it.
Moreover, Clinton and Obama clashed frequently on foreign policy issues during the Democratic primary campaign. Most notably, when Obama proposed in a debate that he would be willing to meet with dictators from rogue nations without preconditions, Clinton told the Quad-City (Iowa) Times: “I thought that was irresponsible and frankly naive.”
Asked about their disagreements, Obama said in his news conference: “I think if you look at the statements that Hillary Clinton and I have made outside the heat of a campaign, we share a view that America needs to be safe and secure and in order to do that, we have to combine military power with strength and diplomacy.”
“I think she is going to be an outstanding secretary of state,” Obama said.
New York Gov. David A. Paterson said he will appoint Clinton’s successor after she resigns as a senator. That person will serve until a special election in November 2010 to fill the remaining two years of the term.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., said that he expected that the Senate will confirm Clinton to her new post “with overwhelming support” and that judging from the early Republican reaction, that seemed likely.
The ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he would back the Clinton nomination.
“I suspect, however, that I’m not alone in suggesting that there will be questions raised, and probably legitimate questions,” Lugar said.
Those questions could focus on Clinton’s husband, who has made millions of dollars through overseas speeches since leaving the White House and whose Clinton Global Initiative is a charity with a worldwide reach.
To allow his wife to become secretary of state, the former president agreed to refuse donations from foreign governments, step down from management of his foundation, and submit his speaking schedule to the State Department and the White House for review.
Yet in the wake of Clinton’s appointment to the Cabinet, one large and pending question remained: Why did Obama choose to nominate her for secretary of state after they clashed so often during the campaign for the presidential nomination?
Limbaugh, calling the appointment “a brilliant stroke,” offered one possible answer.
“You know the old phrase, ‘You keep your friends close and your enemies closer?’ ” Limbaugh told Barbara Walters in an ABC interview to be telecast Thursday night. “How can she run for president in 2012? She’d have to run against the incumbent and be critical of him — the one who made her secretary of state.”
News Washington Bureau Reporter Phillip Lucas and News wire services contributed to this report.
