Hillary, Please Say NO

(image from Boston.com)

It has surprised me how many Republicans have come out to sing the praises of Hillary Clinton and hailed her as a great choice for the new Secretary of State. I always thought she was unpopular in the Republican camp. But even Arnold Schwarzenegger who did not think Obama had the quads to be President, sees this as a good move, apparently seeing Clinton as a heavy lifter.

On reflection, I guess it makes some sense. Going back to the love fest primary debates, where Obama and Clinton seemed to agree on most everything, it was foreign policy outside of Iraq that stood out. On those issues Clinton had pressed the same arguments that McCain later followed with.

During the primary debates, Obama said he would meet with "rogue state leaders." He said the notion that not talking to countries is punishment to them – "which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration – is ridiculous." While Hillary Clinton said she would not meet directly with those leaders.

And she opposes lifting the ridiculous embargo on Cuba.

Hillary Clinton does have a great deal of experience and understanding and would certainly be formidable negotiator. She is tough, but tough to a point where she already knows where she stands. More to the point, others outside the US also know where she stands. She is part of the old guard on foreign affairs with both an image, and apparently an imagination, clearly defined by what has come before. It seems she is still a member of the cold war generation.

Hillary Clinton is tremendously popular among my Chinese friends in the US, but not because of her foreign outlook. Instead it is her thoughts on domestic issues, especially health care and social justice.

In April this year, Clinton called for Bush not to attend the Beijing Olympics. Perhaps she was simply taking an opportunistic position trying to cater to the then anti-China sentiment, in order to rescue her failing primary, but it backfired. Her speech met with strong objections from many Chinese Americans who had been her supporters.

I applaud Obama's swell heart and wise actions to "ally the majority, including even those who were against you before" (as Chairman Mao once taught us :-)). And I think that Clinton could make a very important contribution to the US, but a contribution from within. It is unfortunate that the highest profile cabinet positions really have nothing to do with the common person in the US. Why should we care about money, wars and foreigners much more than we care about health, education and the common good? It is those latter places that are far more important in the long run, and where Clinton could serve so well.

So Hillary, should you chance to read this, please say NO to being Secretary of State. You can serve America much more effectively looking inward than facing out.