What's Next for John Kerry?

[MBS]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/09/15/kerry-continue-focus-environmental-causes/yYnjn7JhgmQyCyf64jw0cJ/story.html

Miraculously, the Globe actually does a decent job this time, and, wonder of wonders, gives him the credit he so deserves but all too rarely gets.
Some excerpts:

Secretary of State John Kerry, soon to begin winding down four decades in public service, says he will continue fighting to protect the environment when he’s out of office, though he’d also like to explore private employment once he returns to Boston at the end of his time as the nation’s top diplomat. Kerry has spent a political lifetime in the environmental trenches, from helping launch the first Earth Day in Massachusetts in 1970, to the bitter defeat of his cap-and-trade carbon legislation in 2010, to brokering a breakthrough with the Chinese on emissions in 2014. . . .“I will certainly want to stay involved somehow on issues that matter to me, I think particularly on the environment,” Kerry said in an interview with the Globe, stressing that he has not given a lot of detailed thought to what awaits. “The environment is something I’ve been involved in all my life.’’ . . . He emphasized that he will be concentrating over the next five months on his current job, which this week includes hosting foreign ministers from around the world at an annual oceans conference that he first convened three years ago.It’s almost inconceivable that the high-energy and hard-working 72-year-old Kerry would quietly retire when his term is up.

There are a couple of environmental items left on Kerry’s to-do list while in office. He is pushing to get the landmark Paris climate agreement ratified by the end of his tenure. . . .
And Thursday marked the start of a two-day conference at the State Department dedicated to protecting and improving the health of the world’s oceans that Kerry conceived of and launched in 2014. . . Kerry, sitting in his ornate State Department office, a bottle of neon pink VitaminWater at his elbow, said in the interview that it’s been his goal to put oceans at the forefront of the global discussion “where they haven’t been until we really started raising the profile of this issue.” The conference will live on for at least three years after he hands over the office keys. The European Union says it will host the event in 2017. It will be announced this week which other two countries will host in 2018 and 2019.

In his very first policy guidance cable, a relatively rare communication sent out to every US diplomatic post around the world, Kerry stressed the need for the US diplomatic corps to make global climate change a top priority in each relationship with foreign countries.
With China, he came into the job convinced he needed to launch talks after the nation helped sink the Copenhagen negotiations in 2009.
“When I came into the State Department, I said, ‘Hooray. This is an opportunity for me to really weigh in on this and have an impact,’ ” Kerry said.

. . Climate isn’t likely to be the only issue Kerry remains engaged in as a private citizen, said Alan Solomont, a longtime friend and a former US ambassador to Spain. The Middle East and conflict around the world will probably remain passions, he said. Solomont hopes his friend will write a book and “take a little time for himself” after the frenetic pace of the last few years.
“I don’t think he’s going to spread himself too thin, but I also don’t think he’s going to limit himself,” Solomont said. “That wouldn’t be characteristic.”

He has done such an outstanding job as Secretary of State, and I'm so glad that that work is acknowledged here.

[Sherman A1]

1. It's possible that he may

be asked to stay on as Secretary of State. If not I am sure there are many things he would like to do that will be available to him.

[MBS]

2. He will do something great, I'm sure.

And I do hope that he heeds Solomont's advice and gets around to writing a memoir. It would be a fascinating read, especially he can manage to write frankly about the 2004 election.

[mylye2222]

3. Unfortunely its on RW links but

Kerry said he will not serve any role in a Clinton administration. He does not want to.
But I do hope he will publish something.
And write frankly about 2004.

[karynnj]

5. Edited because the comment I replied to was when it was assumed that Clinton would win

I think that with Trump's win, Kerry has doubled down with what he vaguely spoke of doing before the election happened. He made it clear in Morroco at the climate change conference, that he will be there fighting on that issue.

Kerry has strongly hinted that he wants to stay involved in both climate change and peace efforts. Before considering that little could be done without government power on the latter, one chould consider that it was Kerry who suggested a method to move forward in Cambodia with war crime trials. He was a Senator and the UN and Cambodians agreed that it would work. The UN later used that method in the Ivory Coast. Kerry is a very skilled negotiator and diplomat.

He has also spoken of writing a book. He has a far more interesting, fascinating life with incredible accomplishments. It would be interesting to read his perspective on many many things. Likewise, in various speeches he has articulated a vision on foreign policy that should be written about, studied and considered.

I get that he will note take an extended vacation and completely drop from sight for many many months, but he clearly has spoken of the how much he has valued the times he has spent with his family. I hope he has lots of fun with his and Teresa's grandchildren.

[MrPurple]

4. Governor of Massachusetts in 2018

Mass. elected a Republican governor in 2014. Kerry is a likely candidate to take him on in 2018. Although MA is a liberal state, it's had a lot of Republican governors, partially because the gubernatorial election is in the off Presidential year.

With the strong anti Trump sentiment in the state, Kerry would have a good chance to take out sitting governor, Charlie Baker, who is moderate and fairly popular, but beatable with the anti R sentiment that will be boiling in the state.