John Kerry hints on Wanting to be Secretary of State

[Ichingcarpenter]

A source close to Massachusetts' John Kerry, who asked for anonymity when discussing the senator's political aspirations, says the Foreign Relations Committee's third-ranking Democrat (and 2004 presidential runner-up) is keen to be the nation's top diplomat.

Works for me!
http://www.newsweek.com/id/141512

[anonymous171]

1. Awesome. nt

[babylonsister]

2. I think he would be spectacular. nt

[That Is Quite Enough]

3. I think he should stay in the Senate - we need him there.

But I won't exactly be upset if he gets Secretary of State.

[JaneQPublic]

7. Yes, especially considering Sen. Kennedy's condition (nt)

[scheming daemons]

16. Mass. Governor is a Dem.... the replacements for both Kerry and Kennedy would be Dems....

...Don't worry.

[karynnj]

26. They don't do it that way - it's a special election

They would likely get Dems - but they would then have two Freshmen - rather than the 8th and 5th term Senators they thought they would have just a few months ago. That's a huge shift in power. (In fact, from a Congressional news list - it is likely both would be among the top most important Senators - Kerry was 12th, but Obama, HRC and McCain were listed higher - at least two would likely be gone - one to VP and one lower in the list because she is not imminently President)

[Parche]

4. As

Much as i think that would be awesome, we need him in the Senate, as we barely have enough now

and we are getting the over '60' this Novembra
:hi:

[karynnj]

11. If he were chosen, it would be after the election

MA changed the law in 2004 to prevent Romney from naming a Senator. There would be a special election - and I would bet that one of MA's many good Congressmen would vie for it - and then run against whatever Republican could be found. There would be no loss in count.

The loss would be that Kerry is becoming one of the most senior Senators (even though he is still the JR Senator from MA). Of the Senators near his seniority and age, he is the one who could become one of the liberal leaders. This could be important for the long term as the older liberals retire.

[PresidentObama]

5. Senator Kerry would make a great VP or Secretary of State.

[jgraz]

6. No matter what, there are gonna be a lot of pissed-off Senators once O fills that post.

[beachmom]

15. Yep, according to the article Dodd wants it. Biden would take it (or VP).

Another good scenario for Kerry is if the above two go and he winds up chairman of the SFRC.

[jgraz]

22. And don't forget Bill "Judas" Richardson

He may be the best choice out of all of them.

[karynnj]

27. If there were no MA issue, I think Kerry would be better

[jgraz]

28. an embarrassment of riches.

Seriously, Obama could pick a trained poodle and it would do better than Condi

[karynnj]

30. But , the Republicans would say the poodle looks French

Unless you're meaning Tony Blair.

[blondeatlast]

8. We've got a damn quality field to pick from. I had someone else in mind, but Kerry would be fine. nt

[karynnj]

9. Kerry would make an awesome SoS - or

a very powerful 5th term Senator. Kerry has himself said in several interviews and David Wade has said as well that the job Kerry is running for is the job he has. Anonymous sources should be considered suspect. Here, you have someone claiming a Kerry person wants a job that he is extremely suited for. He would be the top diplomat for Obama, likely instrumental in the Iraq summit he called for back as long ago as 2003. He would also be the person that would deal with international agreements like the Bali Climate Control one, where even the Bush people praised his usefulness - in SFRC hearings (I doubt they would say it where it would be heard.) What could be more perfect than the young man who entered public notice to end the war, helping Obama negotiate the end of the Iraq one?

But, ask yourself, why this leak? If Kerry wanted it - he would say so directly to Obama. Obama seems to want to make his search for a VP as secretly as Kerry himself did. I would assume that both would have felt the same about cabinet appointments. I doubt he would be telling people around him he wants a position or getting them to leak it to the public. That would seem to have some potential to embarrass Kerry and no way to help him. It also could lead to questions in MA, where he could be pushed to rule out not serving his fifth term.

Kerry is up for re-election and MA is already facing the likely loss of Kennedy as a Senator. This might be a time where Kerry would put his state's needs ahead of his own - unless he sees that he is by far the best candidate - assuming that Obama wins and Obama asks him and structures the job in a way that Kerry could see he could do more good than he could as Senator. That would be better handled in early 2009, where Kerry would owe MA an explanation of why he is taking the opportunity.

[harun]

10. Everyone wants to be SoS, but he might get it (n/t)

[beachmom]

12. Actually, it comes from an annonymous source. Having said that, JK would make a great SoS

First, however, he is running for re-election to the Senate this year.

[democrattotheend]

20. He wouldn't be appointed until after Obama takes office

And after he had already been reelected. So then there would be a special election, and there are PLENTY of Democrats itching to run for Senate in MA. The only concern I have is a bloodbath primary that gives Republicans an opening.

[Barack_America]

13. Um, who's going to be the senior Senator from MA?

Assuming the worst for Kennedy (but hoping for the best!)

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. Don't forget Massachusetts has a Democratic Governor.

So that helps get another Democrat into the Senate.

[blondeatlast]

17. An important point to remember. We'd be likely to get a great junior Senator out of this--AGAIN.

:bounce:

[democrattotheend]

19. There certainly are enough Democrats ITCHING to run for the Senate

All 10 House members from Massachusetts are Democrats, and they all have been waiting for years for a Senate seat to open up. Kerry has been waiting forever to become the senior Senator, but I sure hope that doesn't happen anytime soon.

[bicentennial_baby]

25. That's irrelevant...It would be a special election, b/c

the legislature changed the law when Kerry was running in 2004, so Romney wouldn't be able to replace him with a 'puke.

[democrattotheend]

18. I've been saying for a while that Kerry would make a great SOS

And he totally deserves it. A lot of people endorsed Obama when he was the frontrunner, but Kerry really took a risk by endorsing him early, when Hillary was still pretty heavily favored. He deserves credit for that.

[hedgehog]

21. Setting aside the merits of Kerry being SoS, doesn't the original

quote sound an awful lot like junior high?

"well, Patty told Betty that she heard from someone that Sue would really like to go to the Pumpkin Dance with George....."

[karynnj]

31. You got it!

That's exactly what it sounds like - and likely has the same level of truth. I assume that Obama might prefer concentrating on winning - then when he wins, he likely will put together short lists for cabinet positions and vet people. (The lucky thing is that there would be little reason to worry about Kerry and he (or Biden or Dodd) would easily get through the SFRC. I remember the extremely kind words of Luger when Kerry returned for the first SFRC meeting in 2005 - he spoke how proud he was duriung the foreign policy debate that Kerry that Kerry represented the committee so well. He then told him with a grin that he was happy to have him back on the committee.

[Mass]

23. Even though I like the idea, Kerry did not hint that. Some unamed source said that.

[angie_love]

24. Yes please

[Shakespeare]

29. NO. Give that job to Wes Clark. n/t

[bullwinkle428]

32. I personally think Joe Biden's a custom fit for that job!

[karynnj]

33. Considering it would cover both the global warming treaty

and foreign affairs, Kerry fits all of it better. I suspect that Obama is closer to Kerry in his foreign policy thoughts. Consider their difference on the soft partitions. Kerry liked the idea only if the Iraqis defined the partitions and the roles of the "states" and the national entity. Biden proposed the idea without that for over a year without getting sufficient support. When he changed it, Kerry co-sponsored it and it could get support. The reason is that the US defining everything recalled the British doing so in colonial times.

Biden, due to seniority is the chair of the SFRC, but Kerry may well be at least as respected overseas.

[ZinZen]

34. Kerry was one of the first big name

surrogates to back Obama if I remember correctly. Kerry would be a great Secretary of State.

[Sensitivity]

35. I think Kerry will get it if he wants it. I did, however, hear that Richardson was tagged cus of

Hemispheric focus that Obama plans to pursue.

[thewiseguy]

36. We cant afford to have too many senators vacating their jobs

[Hieronymus]

37. He does speak several languages.

[Colobo]

38. I like this idea- Biden for VP and Kerry for SOS.