Dream Team or Crazy Idea?

Barack Obama’s choice of Hillary Clinton for secretary of state shows human greatness as well as political savvy.

Hillary Clinton will, in all probability, be America’s next secretary of state. While Obama still has made no formal announcement, both sides have acknowledged the decision that, if reversed now, would cause untold damage to all parties involved.

President-elect and secretary of state-to-be now have the longest, toughest and most expensive campaign in history behind them. Neither side held much back, resulting in a dirty and personally derogatory campaign, particularly from the Clinton camp.

Many of the nasty attacks emanating from Clinton’s team were gleefully adopted by the Republicans during the presidential campaign. No one would have been surprised after the primary battle if Obama had held a grudge and chose to separate himself from the Clintons entirely.

That’s why it’s especially noteworthy that Barack Obama has the inner greatness to let bygones be bygones, place a higher priority on Democratic Party unity and offer Hillary Clinton the third most important office in American government. The president-elect has shown his greatness and his strength.

There is a rule of thumb in politics: an officeholder’s real strength can be read by his staff selections. Weak incumbents fear strong subordinates as too threatening while strong personalities surround themselves with the powerful.

There are no doubts about Hillary Clinton’s qualifications for the office she will fill. On the contrary, it will do the State Department a world of good to be led by a competent foreign policy expert and politically influential boss after years of demoralization under George W. Bush when staffs and financial support were decimated.

The decisive question resulting from Obama’s choice comes at a new level: Can the rivalry between two leading Democrats be overcome and the mutual trust between president and secretary of state be established that is imperative for a successful foreign policy?

In my opinion, definitely yes. The question of power has been decided and with it the distribution of roles has been clarified. The president has the final word in all political questions. Other than that, there are essentially no differences between Obama and Clinton when it comes to foreign policy. It is also not unusual in politics to include one’s former opponents when the goal is to form a strong cabinet, and that appears to be exactly what Obama intends to do.

Considering the cabinet appointments already made and those most likely to be made, this would appear to be one of the strongest cabinets in American history. It will be a “team of rivals,” as was President Abraham Lincoln’s first cabinet.

There’s always a certain risk in forming such an unusual administration. Including one’s most powerful intra-party rivals requires a great deal of self-confidence and a corresponding trust in one’s own strength right from the beginning. Barack Obama seems to possess all these qualities.

It becomes more apparent every day that the global economic and financial crises have the potential to develop into a global depression. In view of that, it is increasingly difficult to believe in simple chance when one sees how in the United States – as opposed to Europe – crises and people find common ground.

Barack Obama will have to prove himself a true political virtuoso to be able to keep so many balls – one more dangerous than the next – in the air at the same time. Economic and financial crises, climate change, the competitive capability of the American economy, a new world order with the integration of China and other emerging powers, global poverty, terrorism, Russia, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and countless other regional conflicts from the Middle East to Darfur.

The economy will be priority number one for Obama. In such a crisis atmosphere, having a strong secretary of state in whom he believes and who can strengthen him domestically is anything but a crazy idea. It can prove to be extremely helpful.