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MARCH 18,  2011

EXCITING, EXCITING, EXCITING!! – AT 10:49 P.M. ET:  Get your checkbooks out, polish up those credit cards, test those magnetic stripes.  You will not want to miss the publishing event of the century.  From The New York Times:

The sexy female spy has a well-worn place in popular culture. Angelina Jolie, donning heavy black eyeliner and a slim trench coat, in “Salt.” Halle Berry in “Die Another Day,” seductively climbing out of the surf in an orange bikini.

Who better to roll her eyes at it all than Valerie Plame Wilson, the real-life glamorous former C.I.A. operative?

“They always tend to be cardboard characters, with a heavy reliance on physicality,” Ms. Wilson said, calling from her home in Santa Fe, N.M. “Of course the job has a lot of glamour. But it really is about being smarter than your average bear. Your mind is your best weapon. It’s great when you’re a good shot with an AK-47, but it’s about being clever.”

Fed up with those popular images of the female secret agent, Ms. Wilson decided to draft her own. Eight years after her cover was blown by the political columnist Robert Novak, she has signed a book deal with Penguin Group USA to write a series of international suspense novels, with a fictional operative, Vanessa Pearson, at the center. Ms. Wilson will write them with Sarah Lovett, a best-selling author of mysteries, who also lives in Santa Fe.

The idea for the books, Ms. Wilson said, “was born out of my frustration and continuing disappointment in how female C.I.A. officers are portrayed in popular culture.”

COMMENT:  Yeah, right.  I'll bet she was really frustrated, and thought about it every day.  My Gawd, we are a society in crisis, Ms. Plame must have thought, when female CIA officers are portrayed inaccurately.  It's the crisis of our time.

I assure you that money has nothing to do with this.  Choke.

And, of course, brave Valerie will have a co-author, who will actually write the book.  What will sell it, in the minds of publishing executives, will be the name "Valerie Plame."

Are these print-poisoned executives serious?  There is no name here.  There is nothing here.  Hollywood just made a film about Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame, and there were more people in the theaters selling popcorn than in the audience. 

It's pretty typical of New York publishing circles to think that the Valerie Plame story is still hot.  It was actually never very hot, or even lukewarm, except in the minds of America's liberal elites.  Now it is ice. 

But you can join the excitement for about the going price of a novel, and probably get invited to a really trendy party.

March 18, 2011       Permalink

LIBYA UPDATE – AT 10:16 P.M. ET:  President Obama, before leaving on an exciting, fun-filled trip to Latin America, made a bizarre statement to the American people today, explaining what action may be taken in Libya, following the adoption of a UN resolution authorizing force. 

The statement was bizarre for several reasons.  First, Obama sounded "tough," although he's been waffling for weeks.  It's reported that even Hillary Clinton was becoming fed up with him.  He's waffled so long that the rebels on the ground in Libya have lost almost everything they'd gained.  Also, it appeared to me that he sounded tough because some adviser told him to "sound tough" due to perceptions that he is weak.  Those aren't only perceptions.

Second, it was bizarre because Obama stressed that no American ground troops would ever be sent.  Now, I don't favor U.S. ground troops in Libya, but one of the first rules of strategy is never to tell your plans to the enemy.  One of the tragic reasons for the Korean War was that Secretary of State Dean Acheson, in a January, 1950 speech, left South Korea out of the U.S. defense line, sending a message to the Communist nations that we would not defend it.  North Korea, with massive Soviet help, invaded South Korea in June of that year. 

Third, on the single most important issue – Obama's previous insistence that Gaddafi had to go – the president was strangely silent today.  The signal:  We won't insist on that.  But if Gadaffi can remain in place, what is the point of this whole exercise?  Well, the president says it's humanitarian.  In that case, why aren't we asking for UN resolutions about Bahrain, Yemen, and a host of other places?  Our goals, and strategies, seem to change from day to day.

At last report, the cease-fire announced by the Libyan foreign minister this morning has not taken hold.  The next step may occur over the weekend, when, it's anticipated, France and Britain may send jets over Libya as a warning.  But, despite some table thumping by the president today, things seem very vague as to objective and willingness to use resrouces.  And the appearances created by Mr. Obama's "flying down to Rio" (from an old movie of the same name) are not very positive.

Stay tuned.  Be as tolerant as you can.  We don't have Churchill in the White House.

March 18, 2011      Permalink

IT ISN'T ONLY LIBYA – AT 10:49 A.M. ET:  There is new, serious violence in Yemen, a country that hosts one of the most insidious of the Al Qaeda groups.  This could spiral upward and become another Libya.  From The New York Times:

SANA, Yemen — Security forces and government supporters opened fire on demonstrators on Friday, killing at least 30, as the largest protest so far in Yemen came under violent and sustained attack in the center of the capital, Sana.

The toll mounted rapidly through the afternoon, as some of the more than 100 people wounded by gunfire or rocks hurled by government supporters succumbed to their injuries, according to several doctors at a makeshift hospital near the protest site.

A heavy cloud of black smoke rose over a downtown commercial district at the southern end of the protest, which swelled to tens of thousands of people and stretched for a mile from its center at Sana University.

Government supporters in plain clothes fired down on the demonstration from rooftops and windows almost immediately after the protesters rose from their noon prayers, conducted en masse in the street on Friday.

The shooting dwarfed the level of violence in previous clashes between supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and protesters, who have called for the president’s ouster in weeks of large protests in cities around Yemen. But a crowd of mostly tribal men from the outskirts of the capital appeared to stand firm in the face of the chaotic attack by the government supporters.

COMMENT:  And please don't forget that Saudi troops are now in Bahrain.  The Mideast is rumbling. 

Oh, did you know that President Obama is going to South America this weekend?  You'd think he'd delay the trip, if for no other reason than appearances, as both Japan and the Mideast are in crisis.  But he's going to Rio.  Look, seeing the world is important.  You want the man to know things.

Yuch.

March 18, 2011       Permalink

A COLD, BRITISH ASSESSMENT OF OBAMA – AT 9:57 A.M. ET:  We've repeatedly said that some of the sharpest commentary on Obama has come from Britain, whose reporters have been far more direct about the president than have most of the in-the-tank commentators on this side of the Atlantic. 

Now London's Daily Express weighs in.  The comments are incisive, and cutting:

INEFFECTUAL, invisible, unable to honour pledges and now blamed for letting Gaddafi off the hook. Why Obama’s gone from ‘Yes we can’ to ‘Er, maybe we shouldn’t’...

Let us cast our minds back to those remarkable days in November 2008 when the son of a Kenyan goatherd was elected to the White House. It was a bright new dawn – even brighter than the coming of the Kennedys and their new Camelot. JFK may be considered as being from an ethnic and religious minority – Irish and Catholic – but he was still very rich and very white. Barack Obama, by contrast, was a true breakthrough president. The world would change because obviously America had changed.

Obama’s campaign slogan was mesmerisingly simple and brimming with self-belief: “Yes we can.” His presidency, however, is turning out to be more about “no we won’t.” Even more worryingly, it seems to be very much about: “Maybe we can… do what, exactly?“ The world feels like a dangerous place when leaders are seen to lack certitude but the only thing President Obama seems decisive about is his indecision. What should the US do about Libya? What should the US do about the Middle East in general? What about the country’s crippling debts? What is the US going to do about Afghanistan, about Iran?

What is President Obama doing about anything? The most alarming answer – your guess is as good as mine – is also, frankly, the most accurate one. What the President is not doing is being clear, resolute and pro-active, which is surely a big part of his job description.

COMMENT:  I wouldn't call that a vote of confidence.  George W. Bush may not have been wildly popular overseas, but at least he was decisive...and feared. 

We have to ask what we have gotten in more than two years of Barack Obama's administration.  The answer is, nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  If anything, we are weaker, poorer, less a world power. 

But the rock concerts at the White House are really neat.

March 18, 2011       Permalink

A JAPANESE DISGRACE – AT 9:33 A.M. ET:  We have, in recent days, praised the remarkable behavior of the Japanese people in the face of tragedy.  No looting.  No whining.  A great deal of hard work and maximum effort.

However, let's not go too far.  Japan, after all, does not have an entirely glorious history, as plenty of GI's found out in the Pacific some decades ago.  There is a dark side to Japanese culture and governance, and one part of that dark side is corruption.  The Bloomberg news organization has done some fine investigative reporting, and has come up with this:

The unfolding disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant follows decades of falsified safety reports, fatal accidents and underestimated earthquake risk in Japan’s atomic power industry.

The destruction caused by last week’s 9.0 earthquake and tsunami comes less than four years after a 6.8 quake shut the world’s biggest atomic plant, also run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. In 2002 and 2007, revelations the utility had faked repair records forced the resignation of the company’s chairman and president, and a three-week shutdown of all 17 of its reactors.

With almost no oil or gas reserves of its own, nuclear power has been a national priority for Japan since the end of World War II, a conflict the country fought partly to secure oil supplies. Japan has 54 operating nuclear reactors -- more than any other country except the U.S. and France -- to power its industries, pitting economic demands against safety concerns in the world’s most earthquake-prone country.

Nuclear engineers and academics who have worked in Japan’s atomic power industry spoke in interviews of a history of accidents, faked reports and inaction by a succession of Liberal Democratic Party governments that ran Japan for nearly all of the postwar period.

COMMENT:  Clearly, a report like that will have repercussions here.  Critics of nuclear power, both honest and not, will seize upon corruption in Japan to warn of possible dishonesty and twisting of facts in the American nuclear industry, and they may well find some disturbing things.  Faking safety reports is not unknown in the United States.  We've had several scandals here in New York regarding payoffs to building inspectors.  The Indian Point nuclear facility, not far from where Urgent Agenda is written, is viewed with substantial suspicion by many residents of this area.

I believe in nuclear power, but also believe that issues of safety and reliability should be addressed with obsessive seriousness.  The left will oppose nuclear power because it opposes American industry and strength.  The right cannot respond with bland appeals to "the free enterprise system" or with disparaging remarks about "worriers."  Take the safety issue seriously, even establish new layers of protection.  Nuclear power has a good future, even a great one, but only if the public's safety concerns are addressed carefuly and maturely.

March 18, 2011       Permalink 

BULLETIN – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  CNN is reporting that the Libyan foreign minister, Musa Kusa (yes, that's his name) has just declared a cease-fire.  Gee, what the threat of military force can do.  Imagine if our slow-motion president had issued this threat three weeks ago.

We have few details at this hour.  A cease-fire leaves Gadaffi in place as head of Libya.  But Obama has declared that Gadaffi must go. 

The foreign minister's statement said that the cease-fire was declared in an effort to "take the country back to safety and security for all Libyans."  Yeah, right.  It was issued because the boys at the top didn't want to look up and see a cruise missile coming.

Still developing.  Stand by.

March 18, 2011      Permalink

LIBYA – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Although France is vowing quick action in Libya, following a UN Security Council vote authorizing military force, no action has begun.  And within Libya, although fighting continues, there has as yet been no major thrust by government forces against the rebels.

We learn of a briefing held yesterday afternoon in Washington.  From Foreign Policy:

Several administration officials held a classified briefing for all senators on Thursday afternoon in the bowels of the Capitol building, leaving lawmakers convinced President Barack Obama is ready to attack Libya but wondering if it isn't too late to help the rebels there.

Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns led the briefing and was accompanied by Alan Pino, National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, Gen. John Landry, National Intelligence Officer for Military Issues, Nate Tuchrello, National Intelligence Manager for Near East, Rear Adm. Michael Rogers, Director of Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Rear Admiral Kurt Tidd, Vice Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Several senators emerged from the briefing convinced that the administration was intent on beginning military action against the forces of Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi within the next few days and that such action would include both a no-fly zone as well as a "no-drive zone" to prevent Qaddafi from crushing the rebel forces, especially those now concentrated in Benghazi.

"It looks like we have Arab countries ready to participate in a no-fly and no-drive endeavor," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters after the briefing.

Asked what he learned from the briefing, Graham said, "I learned that it's not too late, that the opposition forces are under siege but they are holding, and that with a timely intervention, a no-fly zone and no-drive zone, we can turn this thing around."

Asked exactly what the first wave of attacks would look like, Graham said, "We ground his aircraft and some tanks start getting blown up that are headed toward the opposition forces."

COMMENT:  Let's actually see what will happen.  We're watching this hour by hour.  There is, of course, the possibility of some diplomatic move by the Libyan government to keep itself in power while offering "negotiations."  It's an old ploy, but it often works.  We understand the Libyan foreign minister has scheduled a news conference for today.

Stand by.

March 18, 2011     Permalink

MARCH 17,  2011

ALL HILLARY ALL THE TIME – AT 10:05 P.M. ET:   We started with a piece on Hillary Clinton this morning, reporting her declaration to Wolf Blitzer that she wanted to retire from public life at the end of Obama's first term, and had no intention of running for president again.  We noted that she might well mean this, but that it wasn't exactly the Sherman Oath.  ("If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve."

The internet today has been filled with stories about Hillary.  Indeed, once the UN Security Council authorized military action in Libya, the Drudge Report's main headline was "HILLARY'S WAR."  From The Politico:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s revelation that she won’t be staying on if there is a second Obama term may have been news to those who don’t know her, but did not surprise her friends, who say she’s spending an increasing amount of time considering her post-government options even as challenges mount at Foggy Bottom.

Clinton has made similar “I’m not here forever” comments before – but it was the timing of her remarks to CNN on Wednesday that raised eyebrows, coming at a critical moment in her fierce internal battle to push President Barack Obama to join the fight to liberate Libya from Muammar Qadhafi.

We haven't seen much reporting about this "fierce internal battle," and I wonder why.  There were leaks about it all over Washington today, as Hillary's supporters made clear her disaffection from this president.  One report had the secretary of state beside herself in frustration over Obama's lack of decisiveness.

Clinton’s persistence in the anti-Qadhafi cause has been such a constant in the White House in recent days that Obama, according to reports, joked about Clinton lobbing rocks through his window during his remarks at Saturday night’s Gridiron dinner.

“Stay tuned,” said one Clinton friend when asked if the secretary would ultimately prevail.

COMMENT:  The most asked question, of course, is whether Clinton could challenge Obama for the presidency in 2012.  I think the answer is pretty obvious:  She can't because she would lose the black vote immediately, and, by definition, lose the election even if she got the nomination.  She can only contemplate a presidential run next year, despite her claim that she's no longer interested, if Obama steps aside.  There is no indication that he plans any such thing.

Hillary's story is not over.  Don't believe everything you read in the papers.

March 17, 2011      Permalink

BRITAIN IS READY – AT 8:42 P.M. ET:  I must say that British Prime Minister David Cameron is proving to be a stand-up guy.  Compare please to lie-down-guy Barack H. Obama Jr.  Cameron is moving quickly to act on the UN Libya resolution.  Britain's military assets are small compared with ours, but the Brits know how to use their equipment effectively, and their defense minister, Liam Fox, is a gem in the Churchill tradition.

From Britain's Guardian, a left-wing newspaper that occasionally gets it right:

RAF ground attack aircraft are ready to help impose a no-fly zone over Libya as ministers ordered defence chiefs to finalise plans enabling Britain to take part immediately in military action against forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi.

Tornado all-weather attack aircraft, equipped with precision weapons, were almost certain to be the first British assets used in any military operation, officials said. They are based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and RAF Marham in Norfolk.

Though due to phased out under the government's defence their performance has been tested in operations over decades. It was not immediately clear whether they would fly from a military base in southern France or from RAF Akrotiri, in one of Britain's sovereign base areas in Cyprus.

It was also unclear whether Eurofighter Typhoons would take part in an operation. Britain has two ships off the Libyan coast, and Chinook helicopters and early-warning aircraft equipped with long-range radar based in Malta, but would need permission from the Maltese government to use them in action over Libya.

For this reason, it would be easier for British aircraft to be based in Cyprus or France, which also strongly supports a no-fly zone. British forces could also use bases in Egypt if the new government there agreed.

COMMENT:  Good for Britain.  For us, what can we say?  We're stuck with the weakest, most indecisive president since Carter.  We have Hamlet in the White House, and no leader has ever looked to Hamlet as a role model.

March 17, 2011       Permalink

BULLETIN – AT 7:56 P.M. ET:  The UN Security Council has voted to approve the use of force in Libya.  The resolution passed 10-0, with five abstentions.  Among the abstainers were Russia, China, and Germany.  Germany is, we presume, an ally of the U.S., Britain and France, and we should note its vote.  We expected more of Angela Merkel's government, but strange things seem to be happening in Germany.  They've happened there before.

We understand from initial news reports that military action to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya could begin within hours, led by Britain and France, with a possible assist from Italy.  However, some unnamed officials in both the United States and Europe, especially within the NATO headquarters, are ridiculing that idea, saying that it will take a few days to organize things.  

The United States might provide some logistical support, and it's understood that American air and naval assets might become more directly involved later.  We have no clear indication of how this is all being coordinated, and whether there's a single officer in command. 

There is deep concern among many military experts that this will be too little, too late, especially if a few more days are allowed to drift by.  Rebel forces are being pushed back in Libya, and Colonel Gadaffi has promised a bloodbath in Benghazi, the main rebel stronghold.  The Libyan government's attack on that Benghazi might even come overnight.

We are only now starting to get speculative stories on the kind of force that might be used initially, but they could include cruise-missile strikes at air-defense installations and airfields.

This is developing by the minute.

March 17, 2011       Permalink 

DELIGHTFUL! – AT 10:10 A.M. ET:  With all the grimness in the world, we try to find some stories to cheer us up.  I find this one just delightful, and further testament to the quality of American womanhood.  From The Politico:

The Marines aren’t the only ones looking for a few good men. So is the Network of Enlightened Women. Specifically, it wants a few good gentlemen.

The conservative college women’s organization has tapped March, the month that celebrates women’s history, for its annual Gentlemen’s Showcase, an online popularity contest that culls the testosterone-infused, scraggly bearded herd roaming most college campuses looking for a few “keepers.”

The criteria for consideration are spelled out on the group’s website: A gentleman opens doors for women, shovels the neighbor’s sidewalk, helps elderly women carry their groceries, is confident but not cocky, and … well, you get the idea.

Slobs, in other words, need not apply. In fact, men can’t apply at all. Nominations must come from women.

“We’re trying to encourage gentlemanly behavior on campus,” NeW founder Karin Agness, a onetime Hill intern, told POLITICO.

And...

...with new emphasis being placed on traditional social values by, among others, tea party activists and a growing number of female candidates (2010 was dubbed the “Year of the Conservative Woman”), the time may be ripe for NeW to make its mark as part of the culturally conservative movement.

COMMENT:  Three cheers and more!  But I'd like to know what female readers of Urgent Agenda think about this.  Please e-mail us.

March 17, 2011       Permalink

THE DANGER – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:  We are focused on Japan, and on Libya, and on our own budget mess.  But things are happening in the world that can have devastating consequences down the line.  They happen quietly, unless detected, but I'm afraid we're asleep.  From AFP:

UNITED NATIONS — South Korea and Singapore have intercepted suspected nuclear and weapons materials bound for Iran that breach UN sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic, diplomats said on Thursday.

The two seizures, made in the past six months but only revealed now, add to a growing list of alleged Iranian attempts to breach an international arms embargo, which are bringing mounting pressure to tighten sanctions, they said.

"South Korea authorities found more than 400 suspicious tubes in a jet cargo at Seoul airport in December," one diplomat told AFP, giving details from a report to the UN Iran sanctions committee.

The tubes could be used for nuclear facilities, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the seizures have not been made public.

"In September, aluminium powder that can be used for rockets was found on a ship in Singapore harbor," the diplomat added.

In each case the product was destined for Iran.

The details were confirmed by a second envoy at the UN who said the sanctions committee would study them when it discusses the latest report from Iran experts monitoring the sanctions regime.

COMMENT:  Please note that there is nothing here indicating the country of origin of the suspicious cargo.  We like to think that only North Korea and a few rogue states, possibly including China, are making clandestine shipments to Iran.  But we've recently learned that some French companies are involved, and I would hardly be surprised if German companies, very eager to do business with Iran, are also implicated. 

The only thing that will stop this rush to nuclear madness is regime change in Iran.  But, when given a chance to support democracy protesters, the Obama faculty lounge responded with its usual "ho-hum, we'll think about it."  When Iran goes nuclear, we'll have plenty to think about.

March 17, 2011      Permalink

THE SILENCE – AT 8:43 A.M. ET:  First, a question:  Have you noticed the absolute silence of the political left on the tragedy in Japan?  Oh, yes, a few leftist tongues are wagging about the nuclear issue, the better to send us all back to the "environmentally friendly" stone age. 

But as to the tragedy itself – the thousands dead and missing, the massive dislocation, the shortage of food – nothing, absolutely nothing.  Compare please to Haiti, where the left rushed in where real angels feared to tread.  The rock stars were on their private jets in minutes, flying down to embrace Haitian relief.  The result?  Haiti today, by most accounts, looks pretty much the same as it did the day after last year's earthquake.

I guess Haitians are just more deserving, although I know not why.

And have you also noticed the silence of the political left on the revolutions in the Mideast?  Now, wait, I thought these people were interested in "human rights."  Am I misinformed?  But have you noticed that all those people of the Code Pink stripe who whine about "the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people" never show the slightest interest in the rights of any other Arabs?  I wonder why that is.  You don't think it's because the Palestinians are battling Israel, and that Israel is an ally of the United States, do you?  Oh no, these "human rights activists" don't think that way, do they?  They certainly do.

I recall the Vietnam period.  The left whined mightily about "the Vietnamese people."  But when the war ended and the Cambodian genoicide began, that same left was utterly silent.  Only one prominent leftist voice, Joan Baez, spoke out on the horror, and she was shouted down immediately by Jane Fonda and others.  Of course, the left was utterly silent about the genocides in the old Soviet Union, so why should we have been surprised? 

So, what do we learn from all this?  We learn that Haitians are more important than Japanese.  Palestinians are more important than other Arabs.  And human life, on the hard left, is simply a matter of politics.  Real living flesh need not apply. 

Far from being advocates for human rights, you will find the people on the real left to be cold and indifferent.  It's all about the ideology, never about the people.

March 17, 2011      Permalink

DEMS AT SEA – AT 8:26 A.M. ET:  It seems that Team Democrat in Congress can't get its signals straight.  The players don't know exactly what the objective of the game is.  From The Politico:

Democrats in Congress are grappling with a question as they negotiate a spending deal: Who's in charge?

The top two Democratic leaders in the House have twice split on whether to approve short-term government funding bills that cut billions from federal accounts. Senate Democrats haven’t put forward a long-term spending plan that can move through their chamber, and Democrats on both sides of the Capitol say they have no idea where the White House stands or who’s running the show.

The result is a rank and file that is confused about its direction and unhappy with the leadership — or lack of it — on when to go along with the Republican-controlled House on budget matters and when to stand and fight.

“The sum and substance of our strategy can’t be waiting for the other side to [mess] up,” Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) told bloggers Wednesday.

But for many Democrats, that’s exactly what their leaders’ short-term strategy amounts to.

COMMENT:  Oh joy, oh joy.  Certain stories place us in ecstasy.  The Democratic Congress has been a train wreck all along, and even the results of the last election haven't chastened the leadership.  Of course, it's hard to think of anything that would chasten Nancy Pelosi, who lives in her alternative universe in one of the better sections of San Francisco.

The party is simply too far left for the tastes of the American people, but its left wing has an adolescent brattiness.  They won't grow up, they won't grow up, they don't want to go to school.  And they have made it virtually impossible for their party to come up with coherent proposals that have any chance of exciting the American people.  Obama has "solved" the problem by posing as a centrist, but the pose is all but shattered, as are his approval numbers.

But still, don't be overconfident.  Republicans should run in 2012 as if they're 20 points behind. 

March 17, 2011      Permalink

MAYBE SHE MEANS IT – AT 7:53 A.M. ET:  While not exactly taking the Sherman Oath, Hillary Clinton has once again rejected any further run for the presidency, and says she will resign from her current position after one term:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says in an interview with Wolf Blitzer of CNN that she will not serve as Secretary of State in President Obama's second term, should he be re-elected. She also said she had no interest in serving in any other role. Transcript follows:
Q- If the president is reelected, do you want to serve a second term as secretary of state?
No
Q- Would you like to serve as secretary of defense?
No
Q- Would you like to be vice president of the United States?
No
Q- Would you like to be president of the United States?
No

Look, maybe she means it.  Hillary Clinton must, at some point in her life, mean something that she says.  But I tend to be skeptical of anyone in a major position who says that he/she is not interested in the presidency.  After all, Hillary ran for the job, and came within a hair of getting her party's nomination.

As far as leaving her current post, I believe her on that.  Serving in a president's second administration – and that assumes that this incumbent will be reelected, which we don't assume at all – is usually no fun.  Clinton could become the president of any number of colleges. 

By the way, the person most mentioned in Washington as her successor is...I'll wait for you to take your heart medication before revealing the name.  Have you taken it?  Is it all the way down?  The name most mentioned is John Kerry, currently chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.   What a choice!  Do we surrender now, or do we surrender later? 

March 17, 2011     Permalink