Secretary of State Clinton rings hollow

Rumors out of the Obama transition say that the president-elect has offered the post of secretary of state to his former chief rival, Hillary Clinton. This offer must make sense at some level, but it's difficult to see how this appointment benefits Obama or Clinton.

You'll  remember that during the Democratic primary campaign, Clinton's claims of foreign policy expertise were ridiculed. Yes, she accompanied her husband on trips around the world and made a few trips without him. She met some heads of state. But, truth be told, she had no official capacity or authority. She didn't negotiate any treaties or referee any international disputes. And as for coming under "sniper fire" in Bosnia, well ... let's just say that lying is not an asset for a diplomat. Clinton's sometimes abrasive and divisive style seems ill-suited to the task of sensitive diplomacy.

She did serve more than one term in the Senate, and any senator warrants some foreign policy expertise, but there are other senators with far more foreign policy experience (Richard Lugar comes to mind). And there are other well-qualified candidates for secretary of state. Back before the Democratic presidential field dwindled down to two, I wrote that Bill Richardson, a former senator, diplomat and governor, was probably the most experienced candidate in the field. Richardson still looks like the most qualified candidate for secretary of state.

But in politics, experience and qualifications aren't everything. Perhaps Obama and Richardson don't get along. Perhaps there's something about Richardson's personality that makes him ill-suited to being secretary of state.

The unofficial, semi-public offer to Clinton may be a shrewd ploy by the Obama people to disarm any lingering ill will among the Clinton enthusiasts against Obama. He may be betting that she won't take the job, but because the offer has been made public via the rumor mill, it will be her decision, not his. Clinton might recognize that she can do far more in the Senate as, essentially, her own boss than she can as implementer of Obama's policy. She has won kudos for her work in the Senate, and she has proven her electability. That is probably more valuable to her than an appointment as secretary of state, a stressful, burdensome job with no real political future.