Discussing the possibility of Sen. Hillary Clinton becoming the secretary of state in President-elect Barack Obama’s administration on the November 14 edition of MSNBC’s Hardball, MSNBC political analyst Michelle Bernard asserted: “If she’s secretary of state, she will run a parallel government. It will be a huge problem.” Additionally, Jennifer Donahue, political director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, asked: “Will she [Clinton] be laying out the groundwork should Obama have only one term? Will she be, in fact, trying to create only one term for Barack Obama?”

During the program, Bernard also said Clinton “could give him [Obama] some cover, and she could also walk — go around the world acting as if she is not the secretary of state but the United States — the president of the United States. That’s a huge danger for him. It’s a very, very high-level job.” Host Chris Matthews then asked Donahue, “[W]ould you trust her to be a loyal subordinate, or believe she would be a bit too aggressive as a colleague?” Donahue responded:

DONAHUE: Well, let’s take past as prologue. I mean, how did she handle herself during the nominating fight? How did she handle it when Obama was coming up upon her and then lapped her?

She didn’t handle it very kindly.

She didn’t allow him to have his piece. She went negative. She tried to bury him.

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And I think that he should take a lesson from that. I mean, I understand this idea of hug your friends tight, hug your enemies tighter. I think that’s often true. If you look at it, you and I were talking about [Nicolò] Machiavelli and The Prince. Absolutely true stuff in there. And I think it’s smart to do it.

But what will she do overseas?

Will she be laying out the groundwork should Obama have only one term? Will she be, in fact, trying to create only one term for Barack Obama? — [MORE]

References:

1. Bill Clinton could pose Cabinet problem — Former President Bill Clinton’s international business dealings, global foundation and penchant for going off script could present a significant obstacle to Hillary Clinton becoming secretary of state, observers say.

George W. Bush has been an unmitigated disaster as commander-in-chief, he leaves his successor with a quagmire in Iraq and a steadily worsening situation in Afghanistan. I just hope he doesn’t entangle us with a war with Iran before he leaves office.

Bush made a mess out of our foreign policy playing general, now he’s going to make a mess out of women’s health playing Surgeon General. Bush is lobbying for a proposal that would equate some forms of contraception with abortion:

“Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., blasted a Bush administration proposal Friday that would change the definition of abortion and, she argues, limit women’s access to contraception.

The draft proposal written by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), which began circulating around Capitol Hill this week, would require hospitals receiving federal funds to hire medical personnel who oppose forms of contraception including birth control pills.

But Democratic critics including Clinton warn that the Bush administration changes would have ‘damaging’ consequences on women’s ability to access birth control.” …Quotation from ABC News/Matthew Jaffe

A medical practitioner has a right to a personal belief that it’s morally wrong to take birth control pills, but he shouldn’t have a right to refuse to dispense a morning-after pill to a woman who has been raped. Medical personnel shouldn’t let their religious beliefs interfere with providing patients with the medication they need.

Leading Democrats have spoken out against Bush’s proposal that would change the definition of abortion, but McCain has been silent on the issue. This is the same John McCain who was rendered silent when a reporter asked why many health insurance companies cover Viagra for men but not birth control for women.

John McCain should be anathema to anyone who cares about issues that impact women, but many angry Hillary supporters plan to sit out the general election or vote for John McCain. These women are so infatuated with Hillary, it smacks of a cult of personality.

If John McCain is elected president we will remain stuck in Iraq for a hundred years, and women’s rights will be set back a hundred years.

It’s Time For Hillary To Quit!

Barack Obama celebrates with wife Michelle
Sen. Barack Obama won North Carolina’s presidential primary by a wide margin Tuesday, while Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly won in Indiana.

“We now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be,” NBC’s Tim Russert declared on MSNBC last evening. The Meet the Press host was referring to Barack Obama, who won a decisive victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton in today’s North Carolina primary and is within just a few percentage points of her in the Indiana vote count.

The network’s Chuck Todd ran through the math and calculated that Obama now leads Clinton in the “popular vote” by about 710,000 — and by 200,000 if the disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan are counted. He also leads by about 160 Democratic convention delegates, Todd said.

Obama, according to Todd, can now make the case “that no matter how you do the math, I’m still ahead.”

The Politico’s Ben Smith reports that Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said this evening that the campaign is going to spend some time over the next few weeks campaigning in states that will be critical in the fall election. “I don’t think we are doing to spend our time solely in primary states,” Axelrod said. There are six primaries left on the Democratic calender; in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.

Barack Obama is 200 delegates away from the nomination, two weeks after a decisive defeat in Pennsylvania. Last night Obama sounded increasingly like he was looking forward to the fall campaign.

In a raucous rally in Raleigh, N.C., he congratulated Clinton on what he said “appears to be” a win in Indiana.

But he told the crowd, “Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from winning the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.”

“This primary season may not be over, but when it is, we will have to remember who we are as Democrats,” he said, “because we all agree that at this defining moment in history — a moment when we’re facing two wars, an economy in turmoil, a planet in peril — we can’t afford to give John McCain the chance to serve out George Bush’s third term.”

| …More Barack TV |

MEANWHILE: Clinton vowed at a late-night rally in Indianapolis that her campaign would continue at “full speed” — then made an appeal for money to fight on in the face of a fund-raising disadvantage.

Despite the uncertainty of the outcome in Indiana, Clinton staked a claim to victory there.

“Not too long ago, my opponent made a prediction,” she said at the rally, joined by her husband, Bill, his face sunburned after hours spent campaigning in small-town North Carolina, and their daughter, Chelsea. “I would win Pennsylvania, he would win North Carolina and Indiana would be the tie-breaker.

“Well, tonight we’ve come from behind, we’ve broken the tie, and thanks to you it’s full speed on to the White House.”

Report: Adopted From USAToday.com | MSNBC.com