Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Attorney General Hillary Clinton?

Update (Tuesday, November 18, 2008 HST):

Obama has selected Clinton administration Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder as Attorney General (the first Black to hold that position), so that's currently not an option for Hillary Clinton. But it's looking more and more like she's the frontrunner for Secretary of State. 

Original post:

In an update to this post on John McCain's future prospects, it looks like I may have been onto something about the prospect of Hillary Clinton in an Obama administration. Yeah, people think that's nuts—Hillary and Obama hate each other, don'tcha know?—but I think that's more media hype than anything else. They are both driven but I think their common goals are more important than anything else.

Anyway, the bit of news, reported in the New York Times, is that President-elect Barack Obama met with Senator Clinton yesterday (Thursday) at Obama's transition office in Chicago and discussed the Secretary of State position. (The Los Angeles Times also has the story. So does the Washington Post.)

This does not mean she is a shoo-in for what many consider "the most prestigious cabinet position in any administration." My man Bill Richardson also met with the team to discuss the job. 

Governor Bill Richardson is ideal for that position. Hillary Clinton, though she would make a fine Secretary of State, is well suited for other positions as well. Positions that are prestigious enough for someone of her stature and accomplishment. Say, Attorney General? She is a lawyer, after all, and I think she would appreciate the opportunity to do some damage make her mark in that coveted position (seriously, I mean "do some damage" in the sense of shake things up and get things done). 

I doubt Hillary would be a vocal critic of the Obama administration, but having her as AG would certainly rein her in. But I don't think it's about that at all: Hillary and Bill were both loyal supporters on the campaign trail once the primaries were over and it was clear that Hillary had failed to prevail (though only by a tiny margin). In fact, the NYT cites an Obama aide as saying that "in the last few months of the campaign Mr. Obama came to appreciate the effort [Hillary] made to rally her supporters on his behalf."

In other words, there is no need to rein her in and I think she could prove to be a valuable asset in the Senate. In fact, I think getting Hillary to be the go-between for the White House and the Senate on health-care reform (including her authoring and sponsoring whatever bill is passed) would be a good way to use her.

Some worry about former President Bill Clinton hanging around the White House if Hillary gets any kind of cabinet position. I don't think that's really a problem, though, as Bill has his own thing going on. But if you really wanted to get rid of him, I have three words: Supreme Court justice. He'd love the challenge, but I think he would not enjoy being out of the limelight. Still, the historicness of a former president becoming Associate Justice or Chief Justice would be too tempting to pass up, I think. (Former President William Howard Taft was appointed Chief Justice eight years after his administration ended, but it is a rare thing.)

The NYT article ends with a bit of advice from former US Ambassador to the United Nations (a position also previously held by my man Bill Richardson) John Bolton, who predicted in July that Hillary could wind up at Foggy Bottom:

Obama should remember the rule that you never hire anybody you can’t fire, especially as secretary of state.

Or Chief Justice.