Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State?

Leaks from within Barack Obama's transition team suggest that Hillary Clinton is being considered for the role of Secretary of State.

This came as a surprise to me, and I have mixed feelings about it.

First of all, while I do believe that Hillary is well qualified for the role, and probably would do a fine job, I have to wonder why she is being considered at all, given that the more obvious choices of Bill Richardson and John Kerry are ripe for the picking.

After losing the Democratic nomination, Senator Clinton seemed content to remain in the Senate, where she can get things done and move up the ladder to a possible future gig as Majority Leader. That would be a good fit, in my opinion, as would the rumored possibilities of a run for New York Governor or a seat on the Supreme Court. So we thought we had the bases covered with respect to her political future. And now this Secretary of State speculation seems to have come out of left field.

And, while Hillary already has established relationships with many world leaders from her days as First Lady and her work in the Senate, which is certainly an asset, any cabinet role she finds herself in would likely be viewed to some extent -- both domestically and internationally -- as a continuation of the Bill Clinton administration. Is that the kind of change that more than 66 million of us voted for on November 4th?

You also have to wonder how far Bill Clinton would involve himself in his wife's work if she were Secretary of State.

And what is Barack's real motivation here? Would this be his way of rewarding Hillary for her post-primary help in herding her supporters into the Barack Obama tent? I can think of better ways.

Whatever the answers to these questions, one thing is for certain: Whomever he chooses for the job, Barack's choice will undoubtedly be an enormous improvement over Condoleezza Rice.

And, in the meantime, it's undeniably entertaining to watch it all unfold.