Why Clinton is Obama's best choice for Secretary of State

What a brilliant stroke -- Hillary Clinton as (maybe) President Obama's Secretary of State. Clinton, more than any candidate I can think of, is so well suited to epitomize the message of the Presidential Seal --the Bald Eagle brandishing, in either claw, arrows and an olive branch, and betraying no pre-disposition.

There are other qualified candidates -- Sens. John Kerry and Chuck Hagel, pre-eminently -- but none as good, or right, as Clinton. U.S. influence around the world has taken a terrible beating during the Bush/Cheney Presidency. Obama has promised to reverse that record. Clinton, more than any other possible choice, could help him do what Gen. Colin Powell said could when he endorsed Obama -- "electrify the world. "

Obama has indicated he would build a bipartisan Cabinet that included Republicans. Clinton would be stronger proof of his bipartisanship -- and his confidence as a leader who, like Lincoln, was comfortable surrounded by former adversaries. In the hard-fought Democratic primaries, Clinton ran up 17.8 million votes compared to Obama's 17.5 million. Imagine the message of confidence and strength that Obama would send around the world if he chose Clinton.