Latest Rumors of President Obama's adminstration - John Kerry or Chuck Hagel
The Washington Independent reported before the election that John Kerry is a leading candidate for Barack Obama's Secretary of State:
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, has emerged as a leading candidate for secretary of state -- should Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency Nov. 4.
Obama campaign advisers declined to comment on the record for this story. Nor would many Democratic foreign-policy experts who might join an Obama administration. But off the record, Obama aides made clear that Kerry's name is on a very short list of contenders to become the country's top diplomat. Another person talked up by the great mentioner is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a Vietnam War veteran whose foreign-policy views align surprisingly well with Obama's.
Asked about the position, Kerry has refused to say much.
"I have no job I'm looking for in the Cabinet at this point in time," Kerry told WCVB-TV just moments after he delivered his victory speech. "If the president talks to me, I'll listen to him and talk to him, but there's very little I would leave the U.S. Senate for."
Asked specifically about secretary of state, a position mentioned because of Kerry's interest in foreign affairs, the senator replied, "Well, I'd talk to the president if he called me and asked me about it. But I never heard anything. It's speculation. We don't have a president yet. Let's get down the road and see where we are."
From NBC's Ken Strickland
If the Obama transition team is trying to bring outgoing Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel on board as part of a future administration, it hasn't made those intentions known within the past week, says a source close to the Nebraska senator.
While the source wouldn't give up much, there was no denying that there has always been an open channel of communication with the Obama campaign, since Biden was picked to become future VP. Biden and Hagel are very good friends -- both as Senate colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee and as close personal friends who talk often.
Could Biden be talking to Hagel about a job as "a friend" instead of in his official capacity as VP-elect? Entirely possible, but not knowable -- or confirmable -- at this point.
posted by Fighting for Democracy at 3:40 PM
2 Comments:
Well, I don't have the senator's ear, but I think Senator Kerry would make a wonderful SOS. SO much could be accomplished with him in this position. Not only that, but he gains the presteige that alludes him now as just one of fifty senators. Senator Kerry came very close to being our president- this position would elevate him and gain him world wide recognition. I just think how much he could accomplish in this postion for our country and the world.
I agree. Senator Kerry has strong character, is a great communicator and I believe offers certainty to the issues of the day.
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