Left without an official Washington Post outlet to continue sowing divisions within her own family, former Washington Post party etiquette columnist turned co-moderator of "an online conversation" Sally Quinn has decided to tackle busting up the Obama administration and promoting the idea that Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton should "switch jobs." This idea must be blowing up the spot in Washington, DC cocktail parties, or something.
This is apparently what passes for reasoning:
It makes sense for the Democrats, actually. Clinton has done an incredible job as secretary of state. First of all, she has worked harder than anyone should ever be expected to. She has managed to do the impossible: She is the ambassador of the United States to the world, maintaining her credibility while playing the bad guy to President Obama's good guy, such as with North Korea, Iran and Israel, and still looking good. She has been a true team player. If Clinton is dissatisfied with her role, you would never know it. She has been loyal and supportive to the president and has maintained a good relationship with him and with others in the White House. If she is being left out of the policymaking, or being sent on trips to keep her out of town, she has not shown it. She is cheerful, thoughtful, serious and diligent. There are no horror stories about her coming out of the State Department.
See, all of that, to me, is what a resounding case for Hillary Clinton remaining at the State Department looks like. As opposed to: Hillary Clinton is doing an amazing job, doing substantive work, and is personally satisfied and happy to boot, so by all means, let's put a stop to that.
At last, however, Hillary Clinton is not "floundering around...try[ing] to find some project for herself." And, of greater importance to Quinn, is the fact that Bill Clinton has finally proven himself worthy of her admiration:
Most notable, though, is that Bill Clinton has not been the problem that so many anticipated. He has been supportive of her and of Obama, and he has stayed out of the limelight and been discreet about his own life.
In short, the arguments against Hillary Clinton being Obama's vice president have pretty much evaporated.
Hooray! President Clinton is being "discreet" now, so the best thing the Obama administration can do, circa today, is set about creating a whole ton of intra-administration turmoil.
So, what kind of running mate would she be? We've seen the team player. Now consider Hillary the Democratic campaigner. She is tireless and relentless. Given the combination of votes that she and Obama got in the 2008 primary campaign, they would be a near-unbeatable team.
Wow. No one in the history of covering elections put it quite like that before, with the exception of the millions of people who did, endlessly blithering on and on and on about it.
But look, I'm sure we're getting to the point where Sally Quinn will lay out all of Joe Biden's shortcomings:
True, Joe Biden has been rehabilitated. A recent profile in The Post portrayed him as a successful and intelligent man whose foreign policy advice is valued by the president. The gaffe-prone former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee seems to have worked out the kinks.
Actually, what were once "gaffes" are now slogans for best-selling T-shirts.
It would not be out of the question for Clinton and Biden to switch jobs sometime after the midterm elections. After the president announced the switch, majorities in both houses of Congress would have to confirm Clinton to her new position, following the rules laid out in the 25th Amendment. She could then immediately begin campaigning for Obama for 2012, and she would also have at least two years in the White House as vice president to give her unassailable experience, clout and credibility. For his part, Biden would simply need Senate confirmation to get to work in Foggy Bottom.
Oh, well, this is a cunning plan. I can see it now: "Hello, America, this is President Obama. I have had a really hard time moving just about anything through the Senate. From big pieces of the agenda you voted for in droves, to minor appointee confirmations, to simple bills that would extend unemployment insurance to the many millions of you who have been without jobs for nearly two years of your lives. Well, here's the plan. For some reason, I just feel like taking two people who are doing their jobs perfectly well and uprooting them, plunging all of my diplomatic initiatives into turmoil and forcing the Senate to have to hold a pair of entirely superfluous confirmation hearings!"
Another scenario is that Obama could wait and choose Hillary as his running mate for 2012 and then simply have her step down as secretary of state so she could start campaigning. The catch with that plan, however, is that it would make Biden a lame duck and Obama would probably have to appoint an interim secretary of state.
I love how well thought out this is! Hillary Clinton would step down, and this would "probably" force Obama to "appoint an interim secretary." You know, because someone might notice how there's no Secretary of State anymore.
"At any rate, says Quinn, "this plan is being discussed in administration circles," adding, "Take it seriously."
No! I won't!
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