Obama taps Senate heavyweight for cabinet

No, not… her. When it comes to the real choices, and not those touted by Team Clinton to keep itself relevant and pushed by the media trying to keep hopping in a naturally slow post-election news month, the real announcements from Team Obama are made in a grown-up, non-dysfunctional, and non-drama-queen way.
And so it is with the Secretary of Health and Human Services designate, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Not dissimilar to his earlier choice of former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder to serve as the next United States Attorney General.
No need for press recriminations… No need to ask “But does she really want it?” And of course, What will Bill do? All the wonderful speculation conveniently forgets of course, that the bloody job hasn’t even been offered to her. Look, I will continue saying that I may be wrong on this, but I don’t see this happening. Senator Clinton has no particular need for the SecState post, which, traditionally, is rarely coterminous with the term of the President; she’d likely be out of the job in 2 or 3 years, and have given up the Senate seat to do it. And Obama will have given up the crisp, disciplined team that he seems to enjoy working with and replace it with a dysfunctional prima dona and drama queen, complete with the innate conflicts of interest associated with Bill.
A far better idea, suggested by a colleague today, would be to offer the SecState post to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, and then in turn offer his vacant seat to Senator Clinton. The bipartisanship is obvious; the Reagan-appointed Kennedy has always been interested in foreign affairs and jetting around the world (and is far more likely to do what he is told)… Sen. Clinton would instantly become the all-important “swing justice,” commanding Constitutional authority for the foreseeable future… all far more fun than being a put-upon Secretary of State for the 2 or 3 years she’d likely do it. It’s win-win baby, and, quite frankly, it seems a better fit for everyone, all around. [In all seriousness, I would strongly suggest considering Sen. Clinton for the next Supreme Court opening. The cabinet? Not so much…]
In the meantime, I do urge everyone else to just get out of President-elect Obama’s way, as he continues to put together a super-competent cabinet that in many ways greatly resembles that of the Clinton Administration… only purged of the dysfunctional Clintons themselves. I just don’t see the marvelously disciplined Barack Obama messing up such a good thing with “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”