Hillary Clinton Named As Secretary of State in Barack Obama's Administration

Call her whatever you will, Hillary Clinton is a hard worker who gets results. She showed the world her strength in the face of losing the primary campaign for the Democratic Party nominee in the presidential elections. She has shown resiliency and tenacity throughout her career. I was very glad to hear Barack Obama nominate her to be the next Secretary of State. Though Condoleezza Rice made history as the first African American woman to serve in such a capacity, Hillary Clinton won't be as lackadaisical and mediocre as Ms. Rice. She will undoubtedly bring global star power and a longstanding commitment to improving the status of women and children around the globe. She will also bring strong promises of military action when U.S. interests are challenged.

Barack Obama has chosen his most prestigious Cabinet position and has given nominated an independent-minded policymaker whose world view has been shaped by eight years as a globe-trotting first lady and eight years as a senator with time on the Armed Services Committee. She combines a focus on "soft" issues such as maternal health with rhetoric more hawkish than Obama's on containing Iran's nuclear program and protecting Israel, according to USA Today's Susan Page.

Hillary Clinton will play a pivotal role in the Obama Administration. She will be taking the lead on a massive set of global challenges, including repercussions from last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, which threaten a conflagration on the nuclear-armed subcontinent, which must be stemmed as soon as possible.

In collaboration with other administration officials, the incoming secretary of State will deal with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, efforts to turn around the war in Afghanistan, nuclear programs in such rogue nations as North Korea and Iran, the challenge from a resurgent Russia and growing concerns about global climate change.

Clinton is "a tough pragmatist who understands it's a dangerous world out there, who understands it can be necessary at times to use force and at other times to be able to back your diplomacy with the threat of force," says Martin Indyk, a former assistant secretary of State and ambassador to Israel who is close to Clinton. "On the other hand, she has shown a very deep commitment to the causes of human rights, women's rights in particular, and the pursuit of peace and resolution of conflict."

When Clinton decided to run for the Senate in 2000, she launched her campaign with a "listening tour" to hear from New York voters. When she began her presidential campaign in 2007, she announced a similar "listening tour" through states with early primaries and caucuses. Source: USA Today

Hillary Clinton is a very calculating woman and that's a trait we we need in the next Secretary of State. She is not a "yes-woman," as Condi Rice seems to have been. She got nearly 18 million votes in the primary. That is no small feat and nothing to be ignored. I am very pleased with President-elect Obama's cabinet choices thus far and I am confident that this administration will be nothing close to the mess we have had the last eight years.

To read Susan Page's entire commentary, CLICK HERE.....