Susan Rice withdraws her name for Secretary of State. Focus now on Senator John Kerry

Peter Dow · Dec 13, 2012

Washington Post: Susan Rice withdraws name from consideration for secretary of state

Rice’s decision will mean renewed focus on Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), whom President Obama has also been considering as a potential Defense secretary. Republicans have praised Kerry as a wise choice — perhaps because his nomination would give defeated Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) a chance to regain office in another special election.
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My concern about John Kerry for US Secretary of State is what it says that America's view has become of the other Rice, Condoleezza.

Let's not forget that Kerry voted against confirmation of Secretary Rice in 2005 trying hard not to look like it was a spiteful vote because he lost the 2004 presidential election to Condi's boss, President George W. Bush.

Condoleezza Rice was a truly wonderful and inspiration Secretary of State and I don't want to see America backsliding and rethinking on the inspired appointment of Condoleezza Rice.

"Condoleezza Rice for President. Join this group of supporters from everywhere on the world wide web."
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waltky · Dec 16, 2012

Granny says dat's who Obama wanted inna first place...

Sizing up Kerry as secretary of state
December 15th, 2012 - Sen. John Kerry, who sources say has been tapped by President Barack Obama to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, will come to the post with a full plate of foreign policy crises, from the civil war in Syria, to the nuclear antics of North Korea, to a looming showdown with Iran over its nuclear program.

Anybody who follows Clinton would have some pretty big shoes to fill. Clinton was not just the most popular member of the presidents Cabinet for the past four years, she had celebrity status and respect almost everywhere she went around the world. But as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for almost 30 years, the past four as chairman, Kerry himself is a highly respected figure on the world stage. While Obama is not close to a lot of world leaders, Kerry has deep relationships with many heads of state that he can draw on as the nations top diplomat. Sources close to Kerry note that the increasing partisanship on Capitol Hill has disillusioned Kerry and he is ready to leave the Senate.

He is no stranger to diplomacy and has often traveled overseas on behalf of the Obama administration as a diplomatic troubleshooter and to mend frayed relationships. Kerry persuaded Afghan President Hamid Karzai to agree to an election runoff in 2009 and has traveled Pakistan after a series of incidents, including the raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. There are very few people with greater experience over a longer period of time, notes Nicholas Burns, a former career ambassador who has served every secretary of state since Warren Christopher, and was most recently undersecretary for political affairs under Condoleezza Rice.He would be a very, very impressive choice." You really need someone who is a renaissance person with a tremendous range of skill, both political and substantive, with a deep reservoir of knowledge Burns said in an interview. You need someone who can drill several layers deep on foreign policy issues.

Uncle Ferd says he got dat "Ask me how great I am, an' I'll tell ya" look about him.

Like Obama, Kerry sees the benefit of reaching out to adversaries, like Iran and Syria, and give them a chance to negotiate. At one point, Kerry even spearheaded outreach efforts to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before the administration turned on Assad over his crackdown on protesters. But he also has called for arming the opposition and for NATO airstrikes, which Obama's administration has resisted.

The Middle East is sure to take up a good part of the secretarys time. In addition to helping bring about a political transition in Syria, the United States also must manage the political chaos in Egypt and the rest of North Africa while trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and revive the Middle East peace process. Kerry is one of the well-traveled senators to the Middle East, has a good feel for the region and knows many of the players. Kerry insiders say a Secretary of State Kerry would want to play a big role shaping policy for in the Mideast and try to help solve some of intractable issues, including delving heavily into the peace process.

More http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/15/sizing-up-kerry-as-secretary-of-state/
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Susan Rice withdraws her name for Secretary of State. Focus now on Senator John Kerry

Peter Dow Active Member

waltky Well-Known Member

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Susan Rice withdraws her name for Secretary of State. Focus now on Senator John Kerry

Peter Dow Active Member

waltky Well-Known Member

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