Sen. Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana is said to be on President-elect Barack Obama's list of candidates for secretary of State. (Andy Nelson/Staff/FILE)
Obama’s short list of possible foreign policy officials
The President-elect is likely to rely on Republicans as well as Democrats to advise him and carry out policy.
By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer/ November 10, 2008 edition
Washington
One clue as to how President-elect Barack Obama intends to proceed on the world stage will come as he makes his key foreign-policy and national security appointments.
Two Republican senators – Richard Lugar of Indiana and Nebraska’s retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel – are said by advisers and transition-team observers to figure high on Obama’s list of candidates for secretary of State.
But if, as some expect, Obama asks Defense Secretary (and Republican) Robert Gates to stay on for a time to assist with implementation of a new Afghanistan policy and with an Iraq drawdown, then appointment of a Democrat to the helm of the State Department becomes more likely.
In that case, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke are said to be frontrunners. Also on the list is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, known for delving into tough diplomatic issues like North Korea and Sudan.
Selecting Senator Kerry, who in his unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid emphasized nuclear nonproliferation issues, could signal Obama’s own interest in promoting global security issues to center stage.
Former Navy secretary Richard Danzig, who was a Clinton appointee but who was an early member of Obama’s foreign-policy team and is said to have grown closer to Obama over the course of the campaign, is on the list of candidates for national security adviser.
There’s some speculation that Caroline Kennedy might be considered to fill the slot of US ambassador to the UN, a role that rivals that of secretary of State for international exposure.
The idea may be more piquant musing than serious consideration, but it could also be a way for Obama to offer a measure of “change” and new thinking to a foreign-policy lineup that some younger Obama supporters believe to be too heavily-reliant on Clinton alumni and internationalist sages.
Comments
2. r springer | 11.10.08
I can not imagine why anyone would seriously consider John Kerry as a serious candidate for the position of Secretary or State. He has a long history in the Senate which is notable only because it is virtually empty. He is far from regarded as a leader on foreign policy issues. He was a candidate for president largely by default and he handled that poorly. He lost, after all, to George W. Bush who was even then held in very low regard by the general public. He has little that speaks in his favor except, of course, himself. Obama can do much, much better, and it will be a very sad start for his administration if he does not.
r springer
3. Barry Benson | 11.10.08
Colin Powell as Secretary of Education would be a significant statement and a guarantee of much-needed emphasis and change.
4. Ray Doherty | 11.10.08
Obama needs to appoint a Secretary of State who will represent a real break from the failed neo-con policies of the Bush Administration. Withdrawal from Iraq, constructive re-engagement with Iran, and a reinvigorated Israeli-Palestinian peace process requires someone other than prominent Republicans such as Richard Lugar or Chuck Hagel. Bill Richardson would be a good choice.
5. N. Jeale | 11.11.08
What I am waiting to see is if the longstanding blind support of Israel will change. Will they boycott or put pressure on the the Weisanthal Center to put a stop to building it’s Museum of “Tolerance” on top of muslim graves???
Even if he does bring balance to the Israeli/Palestinian trauma, Zionist supporters will brand him anti-semitic, just like they did Brando, or the right wing will call him a..gasp….MOSLEM!!!! Look how both groups blackballed Jimmy Carter for writing a whiff of the truth in Peace Not Apartheid.
(Sigh) Alas, I hold out little hope in the byzantine politics of Washington, New York and the Mid East-not to mention the disproportionate influence and money the pro-Israeli lobby wields.
6. Stefan T in Montana | 11.11.08
I’m really happy to see Republicans as possible appointees, even if it’s only speculation for the present. The partisanship that has been tearing our government apart has got to stop. Read the chapter on Congress in Obama’s Audacity of Hope. I personally wish he would use Condoleeza Rice in some way I don’t think she’s a hard core Bushee and she presents a lots of international expertise. I hope Obama does keep Gates in his position. Gates is doing a good job and we need continuity.
7. fsteele | 11.13.08
The more Clinton 90s veterans the better! Especially Larry Summers and others from Clinton’s Treasury Department.
PUMA for Summers
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1. S,R,Keister | 11.10.08
Gov. Richardson has a record as an excellent negationator, an ability which will be required after the extensive diplomatic errors of the Bush administration. Holbrooke is of a past era and brings along the prejudices of that era.Please, let us, as President Elect Obama has repeatedly said, begin anew.
Why the consideration of the pro-war, militant, Rep. Jane Harmon for CIA, or other intelligence agency?