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Richardson's Exit And The Vetting Process



Hillary Plus Obama Equals High Drama
Arianna Huffington 11/27/2008
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It's too early to tell what changes Hillary Clinton will bring to Barack Obama's foreign policy, but she's already had an enormous effect on his brand. Her addition to his team has turned "No Drama Obama" into "Mo' Drama Obama."

Hillary's appointment isn't even official, but the Obama/Clinton narrative has already left the realm of politics. Its twists, turns, shadings and complex emotions are the stuff of literature.

But who would be the best writer to do this saga justice?

Reading the New York Times' accounts of the "awkward dance" that led to Hillary's selection by "the man who dashed her own hopes for the presidency," I thought of Henry James.

It's "Portrait of a Lady Secretary of State," in which the morally compromised symbol of the Old World (1990s D.C.) meets the brash, confident, audacious young upstart from the New World. Will the lady be able to "still have her voice" while at the same time "subordinating her ambitions?" Will she be "seen as her own person?" On the other side, will his "self confidence to name a global brand as his emissary" later be unmasked as, instead, a dangerous naivete? Of course, in James' version, not only would the answer to that last one be yes, it would also likely be the agent of his destruction. Let's hope that Obama is able to rewrite that storyline
-- and that "The Ambassadors" won't become "The Turn of the Screw."

But given the palace intrigue that always accompanies the Clintons, James may be too genteel. Consider: In the two Times stories examining the "Clinton-Obama detente," we hear from "confidants of Mrs. Clinton," "former Clinton administration officials . . . who admire Mrs. Clinton," "a longtime friend," "a former aide," "two advisors to Mrs. Clinton," "a longtime friend of the Clintons who broke with them," "one Clinton advisor," "lawyers on both sides," "people close to the vetting," "close aides to Mrs. Clinton," "her confidants, who insisted on anonymity," "a close associate of Mrs. Clinton," and "one Democrat who is close to both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton."

So by taking in Hillary, Obama is getting more than just Hillary -- and more than just Hillary and Bill -- he's getting the entire Royal Court of the House of Clinton, complete with chancellors, chamberlains and a court jester or two.

De Laclos' "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"? Or the high farce of Moliere? Or, considering the gravity of the times, do we need Shakespeare?

Of course, if "Henry VIII" and "Richard II" are any guide, Shakespeare was decidedly less optimistic about the idea of a "team of rivals" working productively together than Doris Kearns Goodwin.

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