John Kerry, Future Secretary of State

The Boston Globe discusses how John Kerry is positioning himself to become the next Secretary of State after Hillary Clinton leaves the position:

The Bay State’s senior senator is running an unofficial campaign to become the next secretary of state. For once, he looks artful, as well as ambitious.

His recent opinion piece in the New York Times said what President Obama couldn’t or wouldn’t: Mubarak must go.

Kerry’s conclusion was elegant, but unequivocal: “President Hosni Mubarak must accept that the stability of his country hinges on his willingness to step aside gracefully to make way for a new political structure.’’

Secretary of state is the spot Kerry wanted when Barack Obama won the presidency. He lost out to Hillary Clinton and Obama’s “team of rivals.’’ But his fallback position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee provides a powerful platform to press his case.

At times Kerry has already been considered the de facto Secretary of State. Kerry was the obvious choice for the position when Obama took office but other priorities took precedence. At the time it was more important to get Hillary Clinton out of the Senate where she might have established a conflicting power base, as well as to keep her out of health care policy. With that accomplished, there is no reason to consider anyone else for the position should Hillary Clinton to decide she does not want to remain at the State Department in a second Obama term.

1 Comment

  1. 1
    BrettR4763 says:

    RT @RonChusid: John Kerry, Future Secretary of State #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/fbCUcJ | Love it!!! 🙂 #mapol #mass #ma

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