Guessing Game Begins in Washington Over Hillary Clinton's Successor
Obama faces resignations by two other cabinet members - Timothy Geithner (Treasury) and Leon Panetta (Defense). But it is Clinton who is the most visible, and also the most popular face in the Obama administration.
This has set off intense speculation about who will succeed Clinton.
Obama acknowledged in his initial comments following his second victory that his administration faced "enormous challenges" both at home and abroad.
Asian diplomats based in New York and Washington have been speculating over the choice of a successor to Clinton.
Two potential candidates whose names frequently crop up are Susan Rice, the US representative to the United Nations (UN), and Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, a former presidential candidate and chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee."I believe that Kerry will indeed get elevated to the position of Secretary of State in Obama's second term," an Asean diplomat told Bernama on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivities of the issue.
But the predicament of the Democratic Party becomes clear when one sees the situation in Massachusetts, Kerrys home state, where he has a strong base.
Republican Senator Scott Brown, who was defeated by! Democrat Elizabeth Warren in the recent election, could make another attempt for a seat if Senator Kerry stepped down and took the State Secretary's position.
Political observers in Washington say that Brown's resurgence in Massachusetts would hardly affect Obama's calculations in filling the cabinet post with Kerry.
Obama and the Democratic Party no longer have the worry hanging over them about losing one seat to the Republican party because they would not need it the way they did in 2010 when they had to surmount Senate hurdles for the presidents Obamacare health insurance initiative.The 68-year-old Kerry, who unsuccessfully contested the 2004 elections as presidential candidate, has so far declined to comment on the prospect of being appointed as Secretary of State.
However, he has good exposure to foreign affairs as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and has also visited some of the worlds hot spots such as Afghanistan where he persuaded President Hamid Karzai to hold a run-off election in 2009 besides helping negotiate a peace accord in Sudan.
He has had tremendous exposure to other regions and hot spots, ranging from Iran through Afghanistan and Pakistan to China.
Indeed, Jon Wolfsthal, a former foreign policy advisor to Vice-President Joe Biden, described Kerry as a "real prospect" for the State Secretary job.
Extensive overseas travels have made Kerry a well-known face to many international leaders who hold him in high esteem.
But there are also other candidates who are reportedly under consideration, according to some Washington pundits.One of the contenders, Susan Rice, is the US ambassador to the UN where she is known as a forceful diplomat who can assert US foreign policy positions at the world body.
Besides being close to the president, Rice's appointment would replicate a familiar move made during President Bill Clinton's administration -- the then US representative at the UN, Madeline Albright, was appointed Secretary of State ! in Clinto! ns second term.
Nevertheless, Rice has faced criticism for her remarks at the UN in regard to the storming of the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
While she has what foreign policy buffs call "instant name recognition" like Kerry, Rice could face very serious questions about her role in the administration's poor handling of the attacks on the Benghazi consulate that killed US ambassador to Libya and three other persons.
Kerry, having served on the powerful foreign relations panel for 27 years, personally knows almost all the world leaders - a factor that could sway Obama's decision in Kerrys favour.The senator also knows a number of foreign languages, not a common trait amongst past Secretaries of State.
Though Kerry would find it much easier than Rice in getting confirmed by the Senate, President Obama has his "own mind", as one American staff member of a think tank told Bernama.
The name of Tom Donilon, the current national security adviser, has also cropped up, though many believe that Donilon would be "needed more at the national security desk than in the state department".
Be as it may, Obama is expected to concentrate on the State Secretarys appointment immediately after his forthcoming visits to Thailand and Myanmar.
Besides having intimate knowledge about the worlds hot spots, the new incumbent picked for the nations top diplomats job will also have to be adept at handling the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Experts believe that Kerry would be a more viable proposition for this undertaking too.
- By Manik Mehta / Bernama