Who Will Replace Hillary At State ?

Now that the election is over, President Obama has a very important decision to make. Hillary Clinton has been an excellent Secretary of State, but she has made it clear she does not want to stay in that job for Obama's second term. And with all the turmoil in the world (and the nation still at war), it is critical that the president choose a competent person to replace Sec. Clinton.

The two names that have been mentioned the most are Senator John Kerry and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. Both are very competent, and both would do an excellent job if chosen. But choosing either one also carries some drawbacks for President Obama and the Democrats.

Republican teabagger senator, Lindsey Graham, is still trying to make some political hay out of the death of American diplomats in Benghazi, and he has promised to block any State Department officials that have tried to explain away what happened there -- including Ambassador Rice. This is a silly move by Graham, since the Republicans have as much blame as anyone for that mess (by voting to cut funds for embassy security), but Graham has the ability to block an appointment (or at least delay one for quite a while) and he's never been renowned for his common sense.

The case against appointing Senator Kerry is more about political party balance in the Senate. GOP Senator Scott Brown was just defeated in Massachusetts, once again giving that state two Democratic senators (Kerry and Warren). If Kerry was appointed Secretary of State, there would have to be a special election in Massachusetts to replace him. And the person most likely to win that special election is Republican Scott Brown. I don't think the president (or any other Democrats) want to give up a senate seat to the Republicans.

Some have mentioned Hillary's second in command at State, William Burns, as a possibility. Burns is a career diplomat and probably wouldn't be a controversial choice -- but the possibility exists that he could also be blocked by Graham in his attempt to politicize the Libyan tragedy.

Some sources at the White House are now floating a new name -- former Republican governor of Utah Jon Huntsman. Huntsman (pictured) is a moderate who served this administration well as ambassador to China, and I doubt he would get much opposition from members of either party in the Senate, including Graham. Personally I like this idea a lot. I don't know if he would accept the job, but I hope he would. He is a reasonable person, a competent official, and has the diplomatic skills necessary for the job. And it would show that the president is still willing to reach across the aisle and work with reasonable Republicans.