Is Hillary As Qualified To Be Secretary Of State As Obama Is To Be President?

Many have welcomed the rumor that Obama will offer the post of Secretary of State to Hillary Clinton--especially as an alternative to John Kerry and as a corrective to Joe Biden.

In contrast, Eric Trager looks at Clinton's actual bonifides for the position and finds them lacking:

Yet the Secretary of State’s value must extend beyond the currency of domestic politics–the position requires a certifiable expert in foreign affairs. Particularly considering Barack Obama’s own inexperience in international relations–a shortcoming he acknowledged when he selected Joe Biden as his running mate back in August–it is hard to understand how Hillary Clinton would be an acceptable choice as our nation’s top diplomat. After all, Clinton has never studied international relations. She has never written on international relations. She has never advised anyone on international relations. And, during her career in the Senate, she has never sat on the Foreign Relations Committee, nor has she made international relations a major focus of her legislative work.

Obviously, Trager does not buy into Hope, Change and Yes We Can!

Anyhow, Hillary Clinton would likely be a good fit with Obama--especially seeing as they will share a similar, if conflicting, motivation:

In turn, we can expect that political considerations will underlie every piece of advice she gives to President Obama. After all, there’s no indication that Hillary Clinton’s ideas have ever been shaped by any other motivational force.

Read the whole thing.

Come to think of it, it could be quite interesting seeing each of them attempting to score points and build political capital over the next four years.

Technorati Tag: Obama and Hillary Clinton.