Back in June after the last primary when Obama went for a secret meeting with Clinton at her Washington townhouse, I wrote a piece called "Whatever Lola Wants Lola Gets"Now we know what actually went on in that closed door meeting at Clinton's Washington home back in June when Obama went to see Clinton hat in hand after Pelosi horsewhipped super delegates to come out and declare for him. Now we know what Lola wanted. And now we know what Lola got.
Four months before a stock market crash and a collapsing economy that all but sealed the victory for any Democratic candidate no matter who it was, Obama surely felt that he couldn't and wouldn't win as the nominee without Clinton's support or her voters. So he requested that meeting at her house which took place behind closed doors. The inside information at the time was that he offered her the Vice-Presidency in return for her support and she turned it down, understandably since, while Cheney had been the ventriloquist and Bush the dummy, usually the VP job is purely symbolic with no official Constitutional duties.
But it doesnt take much logic and insight to see now what was probably negotiated at the time. In all probability, after turning down the offer of VP, Obama offered her any job she wanted in an Obama administration if he should win, in return for her support. And she agreed. Which now explains a lot of Clinton's seemingly over the top support of someone she had campaigned against saying he wasn't qualified ( which happened to be the truth).
Clinton could have tried to fight it out and in my opinion if she had she would have won the nomination. But it was a risk. This deal was probably the next best thing and contained little risk for her other than giving up her campaign for the Presidency.
It's probable that since Obama's victory, Clinton has been pondering whether she wanted Attorney General or Secretary of State. It's no coincidence that a few days after Holder was named Attorney General, the news was leaked that Clinton will be offered Secretary of State. It is obviously the job she decided she wanted.
It is unlikely Clinton would have agreed to take the job if she had any substantial differences with Obama over foreign policy. So it is very likely that Obama's foreign policy will have more of a Clinton stamp than an Obama one since there is no way she would have agreed to carry out a foreign policy she didn't agree with.
The odd man out is Bill Richardson who, to believe James Carville, double crossed Clinton at the last minute by supporting Obama, probably in hopes of getting this job which he wanted really really really badly. This was to be Bill Richardson's twenty peices of silver.
Politics being what it is, it wouldn't surprise me if Clinton chose State partly to screw Richardson out of the job he coveted.Its also the second most important and visible job in any administration.
Of course some Obama sycophants in the press, David Bromwich over at Huffington Post to name one, have become apoplectic over Clinton's impending nomination as Secretary of State probably because its making him look like a fool after bad mouthing Clinton for 9 months in support of Obama, and now those in the press who spent 9 months tearing her down are going to have to eat their words. And who better to make them look like idiots than Obama himself?
Clinton as Secretary of State says a lot of things. First it says what was apparent back in June when Obama asked for that meeting -- that she was the one in the drivers seat calling the shots and told him what it would take to get her support. Obviously he made the deal. And now the IOU is being paid. Second, it shows that Obama knows he is in over his head and will have to surround himself with the best people he can find, and since he is going to have his hands full with a collapsing economy he obviously needed someone at State that had the visibility and impact to carry out foreign policy with almost the same authority as the President himself. So its' unlikely we are going to hear any more from the press about Clinton's trip to Bosnia as First Lady.
And one other thing. With Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and Obama realizing this isn't going to be a book signing tour, it now seems fairly certain that an unofficial economic advisor who goes by the name of Bill is probably waiting in the wings.
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35 comments:
Mm. I see Hillary giving up Lioness of the Senate (or SML) to prevent WWIII.
And I'd guess Lola wanted all these old Clinton people brought back, which Obama seems to be doing.
I just don't know why she thought BO would keep his part of the bargain.
Marc- I have been waiting for your response to Hillary as SOS and you certainly delivered.
I posted over on PUMA just awhile ago that as long as this deal was Hillary's, I am satisfied with it. And I believe she did have the power to do this, she and Bill together.
And I certainly think Nobo realizes the crisis that this country is in and he doesn't have a clue what to do for it- so - at least he is surrounding himself with people who have experience.
It wasn't the change he promised and the change I feared. Hopefully, these competent people will be able to play "ventriloquist" for Obie as Cheney did for Bush- the rest of Bush's team left something to be desired,
And my final thought- I hope you are right about HRC choosing this one as her final trump card to Judas- GO HILLARY!!
Thank you for this article...it certainly makes sense to me. Need to think about this more and see what happens, but you may be very very right.
Yep, pretty much the way I see it. Expressed those "the deal was done in June" sentiments myself earlier today. Obama knows he's in over his head, everybody in politics knows that, just like they've always known they'd surround him with grown-ups and let him read the TelePrompTer in public like he's been doing. I don't see how anybody can seriously believe that Barack Obama is really in the driver's seat, or, that he was ever intended to be.
"they'd surround him with grown-ups and let him read the TelePrompTer in public like he's been doing. I don't see how anybody can seriously believe that Barack Obama is really in the driver's seat, or, that he was ever intended to be."
But who is 'they'? The grownups surrounding him now seem to be old Clinton 90s people (yay!). That's not the crowd Pelosi would want driving.
Marc, If you are right, and your piece is the most logical explanation I've seen, then I'm happy that Hillary got what she wanted. She earned it. If she had fought for the nomination to the bitter end, a great number of the African American vote would have stayed home, and it would have divided the country in ways that would have been unthinkable. I wish Hillary great success.
I don't believe Obama will be a successful president in the economic front, but at least we'll have someone capable in the State Department.
I didn't feel I could think less of Hillary....after she betrayed her 18 million supporters and campaigned for and raised money for Obama...but if she accepts the SOS position...in my opinion, she will have reached a new low. I will NEVER vote for Hillary should she decide to run for President or any other national office. I cannot began to express how disgusted I am with her and the whole Democratic party. I am thinking she is now a leading member of the unfortunate women in this country who are suffering from the abused wife syndrome. TOO BAD. As SOS, she will be no more than an Obama mouthpiece (puppet).
SARAH PALIN IN 2012!!!!!
I have to agree with Anon that Hillary will be a mouthpiece only for Obama, just as SOS are supposed to.
I'm dissapointed in her. Also the scenarion about the "June meeting" etc., is just conjecture. Please. Obama is in total control doling out crumbs and I bet Hillary had to come to him "hat in hand" and not the other way around.
Giving up her Senate seat is a huge mistake IMO; unless the "fix" is in and she doesn't think she can win re-election, which is a distinct possibility; especially with all of this talk about Caroline Kennedy wanting her seat.
And I don't like the idea of exposing Bill and his donors the way she has done. We'll rarely see her IF she is confirmed!
"Also the scenarion about the "June meeting" etc., is just conjecture"
The meeting itself is not conjecture. It happened. And he went to see her she didnt go to see him. A lid has been kept on what went on that meeting but following it Clinton became Obama's biggest cheerleader and given the fact that she was the popular vote winner that didnt come without a price.
I agree she should have fought it all the way and I think she would have won. But with the DNC lined up against her, the press totally against her it reperesented great risks and I have no doubt the offer Obama made for her support was, any job she wanted and she went out and campaigned that way.
The fact that her being given SOS came days after Holder was named Attorney General says she could have had either one and decided on SOS. Its doubtful she will be a mouthpeice for Obama's foreign policy simply because Obama doesnt have a foreign policy. Im sure given what he will face with the economy is just as happy to forge a foreign policy with Clinton and not dictate one and Im sure that was part of the deal.
It baffles me how Democrats who support the Clintons always sell them short on intelligence and never see the big picture that Bill and Hillary play by.
I have 3 letters for this blog and Clinton supporters.
RFK
For the children too young to know real politics, Hillary Clinton is not going to be stuck going down on the sinking Obama ship. She will spin with Bill, the President at large, all the successes and blame Obama for all the failures which indeed are being staged for him.
The entire economic mess came out of European Rothschild financiers staring in France. They backed Obama with the Chicago syndicate. Pelosi tanked the marks deliberately for Obama in keeping the bailout waiting for another week to help him steal the election.
The Clinton's never wanted Obama to win. They time and again tried to sink him, but could not.
Now they are back with their New York syndicate of Rockefellers. If one notices it is all Clinton people being put into the Obama administration, with only a few token minorities in this Obama election about race.
Mr. Obama has betrayed all minorities and the only reason he even has Mrs. Clinton in position where she is leveraging him now for all the power she will have is due to all of the fraud and criminal activity Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden have been up to.
Mr. Obama bankrupted the Democratic Party and if they are made to repay the 300 million in counterfeit money he took in, the disaster is in 2010 with Congress being lost.
Might that not be a place that Hillary does not want to be as New York might just elect a Republican as Democrats are blamed for the default which Obama's people have said will come in 2009.
So in knowing this, would it not be RFK astute to be the success in the Obama Administration and simply declare as he did against LBJ to gain the nomination in 2012?
There are a host of catastrophies Mr. Obama is overseeing. We have been told that an attack is coming on America from al Qaeda.
An attack happens, Obama does not stop it, who gets blamed for failing? Mr. Obama to the tune of a rubble laid city like New York.
Economics, there will be a default. Another Obama failure.
Congress goes GOP in 2010, the GOP will rightly with Clinton backing move to impeach Obama and Biden.
People need to stop thinking George Bush or the Clintons are not astute in what is occurring just because Huffington Post puts out a George Soros line against them.
These people know the game well and the Clintons are back and have just positioned themselves for the coup they intend to initiate.
The one enjoyment in this is going to watch Tom Daschle and Bill Richardson with simps like Chris Matthews get their chain jerked by Dame Hillary.
Obama let the wolf in his hen house and I still would not be surprised if the Supreme Court did not stand up and disqualify Obama and Biden as those cases are still pending in the High Court.
Then who looks good as Sec. of State, former nominee of the party with delegates she can muster at the Electoral College on a first vote?
Hillary will then reach across the aisle to her friend who was working with her in the primaries of John McCain for a VP and Mrs. Clinton does not have to wait until 2012.
The Clintons are moving in power, because they have it. There is a great deal more going on here than the propaganda. This is a Clinton coup.
Minor quibble:
The meeting took place at Dianne Feinstein's townhouse.
As much as I dislike BO, for the next four years he's gonna be the only President we have.
I hope for our sakes he succeeds.
Always believed that meeting at Hillary's DC home in June is the key to how the primary race played out. Deals were made - I thought then that she asked not to be named as VP in return for __________apparently, SoS. If she wants it - and it looks like she does, then she will make it work regardless of the box Obama/Pelosi et al would like to put her in.
There is a rub here - and, that is - he can always fire her. It's hard to imagine she would actually fall down on the job. She could disagree with him - too much, too publicly - and that might be a snag.
I am starting to see Clinton fingerprints everywhere - not quite a 'coup' yet, but definitely in the hen house poised to fight another day.
If she makes Obama's tenure runs to 2016 - I see another bid for the WH then...but not in 2012 unless he is impeached or this country declares bankruptcy. (Not too far fetched.)
Last thought - It seems at every turn in Hillary's narrative her supporters find yet another reason to go away. Why not suspend judgment? The jury is still out. There are many chapters in her life yet to be written - I will never tire of witnessing Hillary's (and Bill's) political genius whether I can vote for them or not. With Hillary as SoS in an Obama administration we have all the makings of natural dramatic tension -- a la Greek trajedy?
My biggest wish is that SOMEDAY the media will get over the Clinton's - they spoil everything.
At least, she'll live down the unfortunate Bosnia episode.
1950 Democrat: "They" are the Podesta-lead Center For American Progress, founded in 2003.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20081118/pl_bloomberg/af7fb1pf0npg
From Newsbusters:
We are certainly better prepared and more focused on, you know, taking our arguments, and making them effective, and disseminating them widely, and really putting together a network, uh, in the blogosphere, in a lot of the new progressive infrastructure, institutions that I helped to start and support like Media Matters and Center for American Progress. - Hillary Clinton at Yearly Kos, 2007
The relevant quote can be found in the video below, at about 2:40 or so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbzC6-N9mwM
I have other links, but a simple Google search of "Hillary Clinton Center For American politics" will provide food for thought. Some will say "conspiracy theory" and they may be right. But an intriguing argument based on a CAP foundation can be made that fits the known facts.
I also agree with Lame Cherry; this is a Clinton coup, with the benefit of insulating them by letting Obama provide cover.
I don't foresee a Clinton coup. She is "the" team player, working within the system even when it goes against what we perceive her ideals to be. She is a party loyalist. She can and has fashioned her convictions to make nice for her party and her president. She strikes me as pure political animal and I admire that.
I believe those who are "disappointed" in Hillary never really supported her; they supported her gender.
I think Obama is smart enough to see that Richardson would sell him out as fast as he did the Clintons.
I also agree with Marc that a deal was cut last summer in that meeting at Feinstein's home.
My personal favorite fantasy pick would be WJC for Ambassador to the UN.
WOW democrat jack- Bill Clinton as ambassador to the UN, what a great idea!
At least so far Obama seems to be surrounding himself with people who know what they are doing, unlike the lackeys that Bush appointed to his cabinet. At least Obama seems to get it that he is clueless, a lesson Bush never seemed to learn.
Exciting week ahead-
Happy and peaceful Thanksgiving to all
"Please. Obama is in total control doling out crumbs"
No, we the people always get to fight over the crumbs.
Tom, brilliant as always. I could feel the smile on my face broading as I read.;))
Dear Marc: Enjoyed your article and yes, I agree, Obama knows more than anyone alive that he is in over his head and I give him credit for at least seeming to want to pick qualified people to guide him, even though they are not the "Change anyone could believe in". As an ardent Hillary supporter, I feel she did what she had to do to survive this past year and is now doing the same. She is not loved by Pelosi, Reid and others and I am sure the feeling is mutual, so perhaps she will be happy to get out of the Senate.
As his Sec. of State, Hillary will tell Obama the "truth" and that is what he needs. This may never be in public, but in private, he knows he can go to her (and Bill) and get honest answers which the Clintons will never get credit for but then at least we the people will reap the benefits. Unfortunately, I cannot stand all the media hatred of Hillary and Bill and I fear that will continue. Perhaps Obama will try and shut them up since it is to his advantage that things go well. We will see.
Anonymous, the "I was a Hillary supporter but now I've lost respect for her" was last month's GOP talking point. Please report to Concern Troll HQ for your new marching orders.
This whole SOS thing, as it is revealed, only increases the respect any thinking person would have for Hillary. It shows that, as I have long maintained, she was three chess moves ahead of everybody including Obama, and would reveal her hand when she was good and ready.
Indeed, check this: According to the UK Independent (link isn't working right now), part of the deal was the wholesale firing from State of Obama Team members who badmouthed her and belittled her foreign policy experience. They are now Gone, Baby, Gone--their heads on a platter were the price she demanded to save Obama's bacon. Anyone who thought Hillary wouldn't extract a hefty price for her support doesn't know anything about politics, or the Clintons.
Brava for her. She is as tough and smart as we all knew, all along, and no way is she going to be his, or anyone else's patsy.
And also, and exactly, as Lame Cherry said:
"It baffles me how Democrats who support the Clintons always sell them short on intelligence and never see the big picture that Bill and Hillary play by."
That's why I suspect they're not actually Democrats but GOP trolls.
Lame Cherry, spot on as usual! I, too, have always had difficulty understanding why self professed Clinton supporters seem to have so little faith in their leaders--the reason I deem Hillary a good leader is that I think she is smarter and more privy to more info than I am. That is why we call these kind of people leaders. While I, too, would like to have seen her fight all the way because I believe she could win, she had a different way to play it out and I respect that. There are many reasons why winning the WH this term could be less than perfect: with all the lying, cheating and stealing the DNC has done, all the voter fraud Obama has perpetrated, and the mess the Bush administration has left, the incoming POTUS can only have his clueless hands full and will no doubt make a huge mess of things despite his attempt to recreate a Clinton administration. One cannot help but wonder whether he will even complete one term. No one knows what is next, but I feel comfortable in knowing that Hillary knows more than we do and is not going to make a decision that is bad for America or herself. We so need her--AND Bill--and BO be damned. He is no match for them in any way, shape or form.
I hope you're right in your assessment of how things stand.
I find comfort in the thought of a huge Clinton influence on the Obama administration. The Clintons seem to have done all right the last time they had influence....
Just please, can we get through the next four years without total collapse? (not sure if I'm j/k when I say that....)
Sarah Palin will never be anything more then a Joke!
Tom in Paine I love you!!!. But in a cool-manly sense of course.
You hit every point! He NEEDED her and he would have sold his grandmother to have her on his side and at the convnetion-etc. He is in over his head. The majority of his picks for Cabinet and power posts are former Clinton Admin people. With Hillary as Sec of state she will guide him to a more focused and centrist policy.
david in iowa
As always an excellent analysis. Any chance of you writing a tv show again? I really love the White Shadow and would really like to give my husband an autographed copy for Christmas. Any chance you can hook me up?
What a collection of half-truths, conjecture, and wishful thinking.
The facts are simple. Senator Obama won because he was the better candidate. Senator Clinton was offered a job in his administration.
What nonsense to say he's in over his head. What silliness to call him a fraud.
He's our President. Clinton works for him.
No, he "won" because he and the media and his weak cronies used racism against Hillary and Bill Clinton. And he and the DNC awarded votes to him he didn't earn in Michigan and took half of Hillary's votes from MI and FL. And he cheated in the caucuses (where his true community organizing skills came into play). And he threatened delegates and Congressmen. And he and ACORN cheated by thousands of illegal votes and voter fraud. And he took in hundreds of millions in illegal forieign campaign contributions. And he accused patriotic Americans of being racist because they didn't want to vote for him.
We will never know if he truly ran a good campaign because the media acted as his defender and enabler. Truly sick.
I love our Lola. She is destined to be President - a REAL president who can effectively handle the military, economy & health care and anything else that comes her way.
Oblahblah is a fool.
"...What nonsense to say he's in over his head".
Do you have a shred or proof(your opinions arent proof) that he isnt over his head? A shred of evidence that he's ever accomplished a thing in 12 years as an elected official? If you do enlighten us.
"... Any chance of you writing a tv show again? I really love the White Shadow and would really like to give my husband an autographed copy for Christmas. Any chance you can hook me up?"
Im working on two new pilots. Where they will end up no one can be sure right now.
Im not sure how to effect getting you an autographed copy of the DVD but Im flattered that you asked.
waiting4hrc said...
"I love our Lola. She is destined to be President - a REAL president who can effectively handle the military, economy & health care and anything else that comes her way."
Me too. I love her and trust her. She is dealing with a complex system, and some dangerous people. Our Lola is a smart cookie. I love that picture on this post. She's still my girl.
I greatly admire Hillary, I trust her 100%, true, I wanted her to fight it out on the convention floor, but she was surrounded by vultures/backstabbers. At the end of the day, I know that she knows what she is doing and will do what is right for this country.
Go Hillary! :)
Thank you - Marc for your analysis and explanations. 'screw Richardson out' will be enough for me. I now can accept this in peace.
Vivien
So, it looks like an almost done deal after today's dog and pony show of who actually will be in charge of the safety of the country.
I will tell you one thing after watching Mr Snide and Snarky, his comments at his press conference announcing these cabinet members, I noticed Nobie is pretty dismissive of the media. Shouldn't someone remind this moron that it is the media who got him elected?
Marc- any new posts coming? I am eagerly waiting.
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