*Cross-posted at my website, The Danifesto*

Move over, Condi.

There are reports that Obama is considering Hillary Clinton, among other big shots like John Kerry and Bill Richardson, to be Secretary of State.

Here's my take on this:

Personal Reaction: Hillary Clinton doesn't do it for me, and never has. I have no problems saying that, while I agree with her on virtually every policy issue (notwithstanding her Iraq War vote), I don't find her particularly appealing as a politician. I am still angry about some of the shit she pulled in the primary ("Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June," the gas tax holiday, the 3 AM ad, "He's not a Muslim... as far as I know," etc.). Much of my distaste for her has subsided since then, and I even donated money to her in August ($10, but hey, I'm poor), but I confess I remain somewhat leery of her. I just don't completely trust her.

So the conspiracy theorist/paranoid/still-smarting Obama supporter in me isn't necessarily thrilled at the prospect of her being so high up on the Obama food chain. I think Hillary, while - I'll say it again - right on most policy issues, would have been a disaster as president. For all her intellectual capabilities and political gifts, I think she would have been a terrible fit as chief executive of our country. And even though Secretary of State is waaay far down the line of presidential succession (after vice president, speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate), there's a fairly large part of me that doesn't want to see her in line at all. I'm just not really comfortable with her being in that kind of position.

All that being said...

Political Reaction: If this happens, Obama gets an A+++ for playing politics and for making a decision that will be almost universally praised as a sound governing choice. No one in the Democratic Party will be unhappy with the choice, and most will be thrilled. Republicans... they don't like her anyway, but they'll be thrilled that she'll be spending so much time abroad.

Furthermore, this is straight out of Team of Rivals. It's the whole "keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer" thing. Obama still probably feels like he can't completely trust Hillary, and she probably still wants to be president, and she definitely thinks she'd be a better president than he would, but that's actually an excellent reason to put her on the team. Hillary can do much less damage to Obama - and could even do him a great deal of good - if she's in "the tent," so to speak. If Hillary's in the Cabinet, the chances of her conspiring behind Obama's back are greatly reduced. Plus, in all fairness, she'd probably do a good job at the State Department. Personally, I'm still a little skeptical of her management skills after the atrocious campaign she ran, but I have no doubt she'd be a good diplomat. And since she'd of course want to excel at her job, she'd probably give it her all; if she didn't, she wouldn't make Obama look bad, she'd make herself look bad - and she'd also kill any chance she might still have at becoming president.

Bottom Line: It's a bold move. Like the Rahm pick, it has its pluses and minuses, but it's probably worth the risk. I say go for it.