Hillary Clinton with Susan Rice In the Wings...New Media Drama
With the nomination of Susan Rice (former Asst. Secretary of State for African Affairs under Bill Clinton) to be Ambassador to the United Nations, the media is watching for developing drama with Hillary Clinton. Many in the Clinton camp see Rice's work with Obama as a defection. What fuels this topic is the fact that Obama has given this job of Ambassador cabinet level status. John Bolton, the present Ambassador to the United Nations, sees this as setting the stage for conflict between Rice and Hillary Clinton. Bolton agrees and says 'one shouldn't have two secretaries in the same department'.
Peter Baker, of "The Herald Tribune' writes:
"If confirmed, Rice at 44 would be the second-youngest ambassador to the United Nations. A Rhodes scholar who earned a doctorate in international relations at Oxford University, she joined Bill Clinton's National Security Council staff in 1993 before rising to assistant secretary of state for African affairs at age 32. When Obama decided to run for president, she signed up as one of his top advisers, much to the consternation of the Clinton camp, which resented what it saw as a defection." End Quote
The ugliest take on Susan Rice's nomination comes from Clay Risen at : "The New Republic"
"As the ambassador at the United Nations, Rice will have to coordinate with Hillary Clinton, but will not be in the White House or at State Department headquarters on a daily basis as major policies are formulated. One person close to Clinton said the senator did not object to Rice serving at the United Nations."
Rice on Deck
(The Plank) Completely idle speculation here, but Obama's decision to name Susan Rice as UN ambassador and re-elevate
the post to a Cabinet-level position can be read as a clear message to
Hillary Clinton: Better toe the line, because you can be replaced in a
heartbeat. Rice has been a long-time Obama adviser, and early on her
name was bantered about to lead State. But there were two knocks
against her: inexperience and, to be delicate, a certain lack of
diplomatic tact. The UN post will resolve both--as opposed to, say,
deputy secretary of state or deputy NSA, which would not have given her
the same training, nor put her in a direct line to succeed Clinton.
Obama doesn't seem like the firing type, but merely having Rice on hand
to take over Foggy Bottom gives him a powerful check against an
assertive secretary of state. It is all too clear that the leftist media will continue to focus their writings on the worst possible scenarios for Hillary. No matter the great accomplishments we expect to see from Hillary, we will be subject to their cynical, unfair, biased "journalism"...TRedwine
