It appears that President-elect Barack Obama is going to select Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Without forgetting that political relationships are about using people, there is a lot to be said for moving ahead after a hard fight and hard feelings.
Given this reconciliation between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton , it is a good time to think about who in our lives we can move ahead with, past bad times, to a better relationship.
When we are in our graves, how will our anger and our grudges serve us?
Attorney General Michael Mukaseycollapsed during a speech last night. The exact etiology of his collapse has not been revealed. He was admitted to a hospital overnight and released today, so one would assume that the requisite tests were performed and they were all negative. Of course I wish him well.
I find all the leaks around Barack Obama’s Cabinet choices very compelling. There has been no official confirmation of any Cabinet post of which I am aware. The speculation on whether Senator Hillary Clinton will take the job of Secretary of State continues to fill the airwaves. Speculation has also turned to Governor Bill Richardson, reportedly being considered for Secretary of Commerce. The current governor of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Timothy Geithner, may be chosen as the Secretary of the Treasury. Other Cabinet possibilities include Arizona Governor Janet Napolitanoheading up Homeland Security, though I’m not sure that this department doesn’t need to be completely dismantled…but that’s another discussion. Former Senator Tom Daschlehas been chosen for Health and Human Services if he can work out some of the conflicts of interest. Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holderhas been chosen as theObama team’s Attorney General. There is still speculation on whether or not Barack Obama will keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense. Remember, though, with the exception of Rahm Emanuel, there has been no official announcement from Barack Obama or any of his team members.
Former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft (served under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush) and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (served under President Jimmy Carter) wrote a nice op-ed in the Washington Post today. They have asked that Barack Obama not squander the goodwill that he has garnered throughout the world and focus his attention on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This certainly needs to be put on the front burner. As a matter of fact, Obama might consider appointing a special envoy to negotiate the peace settlement. Maybe someone like former President Bill Clinton would be appropriate. Now wouldn’t that cause a ton of conjecture about Bill’s muscling in on Hillary’s territory?
There seems to be a fly in the ointment concerning the conviction ofSenator Ted Stevens. David Anderson, a prosecution witness, has written a letter stating that he was extensively “coached” by the prosecution. He went even further, saying he would not have testified the way he did without the coaching. This is starting to look less like a case of corruption and more like an episode of LA Law (I don’t want to know who slept with whom in this case!).
Huge rally on Wall Street. I will repeat what I said about Wall Street a couple months ago, however. It will take some time for the stock market to recover. Look for continued volatility for the next six to eight months. The overall trend of the Stock Market will be down during this time. 🙁
