Hillary: Supreme Court doesn’t fit my personality.

A few weeks ago when the rumors began flying that Hillary might be considered as a replacement for Justice Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court, I wrote here that she would never accept such a position.

Here’s how I phrased it –

Although all the positive reasons for seeing Hillary on the the Supreme Court are valid in my opinion, such a position does not fit into the lifelong paradigm of Hillary’s activist history. Sitting on the Court would push her into the darkness where she would no longer be the outspoken, out-front advocate that she has been her entire life. Hillary is not too old for the Supreme Court. But she is too valuable a player in our political life to be stashed away in a black robe writing legal opinions, and she knows it.

Yesterday on Meet the Press David Gregory asked the Secretary whether she would consider sitting on the Supreme Court:

Secretary Clinton: “I do not and have never wanted to be a judge, ever. I mean, that has never been anything that I even let cross my mind, because it’s just not my personality.”

That was exactly my point, and I think that people who really know Hillary Clinton understand how out of character a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court would be for her. In other words, it’s just not her personality.

Here’s a transcript of the conversation with David Gregory:

QUESTION: Before you go, a question about whether you think it’s realistic that you will stay on as Secretary of State for the balance of the first term.

SECRETARY CLINTON: (Laughter.) Well, I intend to. Yeah, I intend to.

QUESTION: You do intend to?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yeah. But I mean, people have been asking me this. And in the interest of full disclosure, it is an exhausting job. But I enjoy it. I have a great time doing it. I feel like we’re making a difference around the world, that I’m a big believer in setting goals, having a vision of where we’re trying to get, but then trying to translate that into what we do today and what we do tomorrow. And we’ve made a lot of progress. We face incredibly difficult problems.

QUESTION: So you think you’ll stay for the whole first term?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think so. I think so. I mean, look, ask me next month and the month after that, but that certainly is my intention.

QUESTION: And yet you don’t care to be on the Supreme Court?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, never. I mean, I’m glad you (inaudible).

QUESTION: You’re a lawyer with all that background.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I am – I do not and have never wanted to be a judge, ever. I mean, that has never been anything that I even let cross my mind, because it’s just not my personality.

What they’re saying about Hillary Clinton – 05/02/10

Every week I’m taking a look at some of the more interesting and sometimes off-beat comments the world media has to say about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Here are a few choice excerpts for this week’s report –

Hillary Clinton missed off Time’s ‘most influential’ list

By Guy Adams in Los Angeles

Women may hold more sway than eve before, but the world’s most powerful female, Hillary Clinton, is not in the same league as Kathryn Bigelow or Lady Gaga.

That, at least, is the stern verdict of Time magazine, which failed to find space for the US Secretary of State among the record 31 members of the fairer sex who feature in its prestigious annual list of the 100 people “whose ideas, innovations and actions are most shaping the world”.

Mrs Clinton’s name was notably absent from the roll-call of 25 “leaders” included in the 100-strong list when it was unveiled, with some fanfare, yesterday afternoon. But space was found for Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, and even Hillary’s husband, Bill.

The decision was somewhat perplexing, since she has previously featured on the list five times, and by her own lofty standards is enjoying one of the most successful and high-profile periods of her political career. Already this year, she has made 11 foreign trips, and was an architect of the “Start” nuclear reduction treaty signed by the US and Russia this month.

The Independent 04/30/10

Is Hillary prepping a challenge to Obama?

By Mychal Massie

Hillary wouldn’t be responsible for the socialist agenda Obama has pushed; she hasn’t voted on any piece of legislation; and Bill could always point to the success of his administration – which, such as it was, was due in large part to his taking credit  for Republican initiatives.

Even more insidious, if elected, she would be able to retain most of Obama’s agenda because, to a marginally lesser extent, she and Obama represent the same thing. The difference would be that she would be afforded political cover, because she would neither be pushing his agenda nor implementing it. She would simply be working with the programs she inherited.

And if, as we believe, a substantial turnover occurs in the Congress, she would not be encumbered to the same extent with anti-incumbent sentiment. Obviously I’m only surmising here, but it is worth noting that if I’m thinking about it, someone in camp Clinton is certainly thinking about it. It is also worth noting that few are better at political back-stabbings than the Clintons.

World Net Daily 04/27/10

Newsweek’s ‘Bad Cop’, From Sexist Insults to 3:00 a.m. Ad to WJC

By Taylor Marsh

In the White House, it’s still possible to hear someone dismissing Hillary as a foreign-policy lightweight. “She has no real strategic vision,” says an NSC official. “But she’ll get done what she has to do. She’s the good little Methodist girl. In the end she’ll have her list of the nine or 10 things she has to do and check them off one by one.” – Obama’s Bad Cop

“The good little Methodist girl” spewing from the lips of one NSC “source” must have made Meacham come right out of his chair with excitement. Could it be more condescending to a woman charged with the world diplomatic mission of the United States? No, and that’s why it was offered up. Cover makes brave people out of cowards, a dripping cheap shot easy to utter under the cloak of covert swipes. This anonymous national security official, no doubt, now substituting for what used to be called fairness when people had the spine to talk on the record. That Newsweek enjoys using quotes like these in a story that starts out revealing a moment where Obama and Clinton truly come together is revealing. But both sides gets shots in, anonymous or not, with Newsweek only to happy to divide the Obama and Clinton teams even a year after they’ve begun their work.

Taylor Marsh 04/28/10

Resilience: It’s How You Can Succeed Like Hillary

By John Sylo

Hillary Clinton is the very model of a successful leader, gifted at prospering even in the face of turbulent times. The real question is: Could the same be said about you?

Ask yourself:

* Do I bounce back from challenging situations?
* Do I know how to learn from my mistakes?
* Do I make my words count?
* Do I embrace change and take advantage of new opportunities?

In Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton, leadership expert Rebecca Shambaugh reveals the unique formula of open-mindedness, intense focus, authenticity, and resilience that allows Hillary to answer “yes” to all of these questions and that has led to her historic rise onto the world stage.

Work Bloom 04/28/10

Reflections on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

By Andrew Carroll

Though I disagree with America’s 67th Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on nearly every political issue, Secretary Clinton was perhaps the most engaging speaker I have had the opportunity to interact with during my three years as a McConnell Scholar. Secretary Clinton’s speech, her demeanor, and her responses to questions provided insight into why Secretary Clinton will arguably be remembered as one of the most influential American women in the history of our country.

Secretary Clinton’s speech and her answers to questions revealed not only her strength and knowledge of foreign policy, but also, as Senator McConnell revealed later, her political shrewdness in framing the answers to potentially unfavorable questions in a positive way. Her poise and engaging demeanor when interacting with a crowd revealed her ability to give a powerful speech that impacts nuclear policy around the world one moment, while introducing herself as simply “Hillary” the next.

McConnell Center Blog 04/29/10

Hillary raises objections to Arizona’s immigration law.

On today’s Meet the Press, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked about Arizona’s new immigration law. Hillary raised several potential problems with the law and said that as currently written it promotes racial profiling.

Here is the transcript of her exchange with host David Gregory:

QUESTION: Another area that has become a domestic political debate over immigration has also taken on some international ramifications. Mexico, because of the law – the stringent law against – the anti-immigration law passed in Arizona, has issued a pretty unusual alert to its own citizens traveling to Arizona. I’ll put it up on the screen. This is the alert – a travel alert over Arizona immigration law. This is how the USA Today reported it on Wednesday: “The country warned that the state’s adoption of a strict immigration enforcement law has created ‘a negative political environment from migrant communities and for all Mexican visitors.’ ‘It must be assumed that every Mexican citizen may be harassed and questioned without further cause at any time,’ according to the foreign ministry.”

The president, President Calderon, with whom you will meet soon, has talked about criminalizing – this law criminalizes a largely social and economic phenomenon of migration. This is a pretty big shot across the bow to America here.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it is. And I think if you look at it, again, you have a lot of unanswered questions. This law, which is clearly a result of the frustration that people in Arizona and their elected officials feel about the difficulty of enforcing the law along our border and preventing the continued immigration of people who are not documented, but on the other hand, it is written so broadly that if you were visiting in Arizona and you had an accent and you were a citizen from my state of New York, you could be subjected to the kind of inquiry this law permits.

QUESTION: Do you think it invites profiling, racial profiling?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because clearly, as I understand the way the law is being explained, if you’re a legal resident, you still have to carry papers. Well, how is a law enforcement official supposed to know? So, again, we have to try to balance the very legitimate concerns that Americans – not just people in Arizona but across the country have about safe and secure borders, about trying to have comprehensive immigration reform, with a law that I think does what a state doesn’t have the authority to do, try to impose their own immigration law that is really the province of the federal government.

QUESTION: That is important. Do you think this law will not stand up legally?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I don’t want to offer a legal opinion. I think I’ll leave that to the Justice Department. But I know the Attorney General of Arizona has raised questions about the legality. And you’re right; we have a visit from President Calderon coming up, a state visit. He’s a very important partner to us on trying to stop illegal activity along our border – the importation of drugs, of arms, of human beings – all of the crime that that’s associated with. And we believe that he has really done the best he can under very difficult circumstances to get this under control. We don’t want to make his life any harder either. We want to try to support him in what has been a courageous campaign against the drug traffickers.