Hillary Clinton: The Indispensable Woman

Hillary Clinton seems quite content with the job she has, traveling the world to tamp down conflicts together with promoting better global health conditions for women and children in particular. As secretary of state, she's taken the lead in advocating "soft power" as a necessary and valuable component of American might. That's why it comes as a bit of a surprise to see Clinton touted as a possible successor to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who plans to step down sometime next year.

This speculation has surfaced before, along with an alternate scenario that has Clinton trading places with Joe Biden to become vice president.
Hillary is now the indispensable woman, the competent, charismatic candidate for any job. Put her anywhere and watch her succeed. The fact that people in high places can imagine her as secretary of Defense, a job no woman has ever held, says a lot about her progression in the public eye, and about the acceptance of women in influential positions that were once off limits.

Of course, almost any rumor can take root in Washington in August, a time when faux news is so much more fun to talk about than the serious challenges facing the country. Still, it is a tribute to Clinton and how powerful – and popular – she has become. She already has a good job, and it's odd to think she might want to move. The secretary of State has always been considered the premiere Cabinet job, and 18 months into the administration, by all reports, she's gotten hold of the giant department and is shaping policy.

Why would she want to start all over again with another humongous bureaucracy? The answer can be found in one word: resources. The State Department is always the poor cousin when it comes to foreign intervention. State is starved for money; the Pentagon is awash in money, and therefore influence. When Clinton travels to Afghanistan, the voice that matters most is not hers, but that of Gates. With one war winding down and another scheduled to begin winding down, the Defense post is at the epicenter of policy and politics.

Clinton gets glowing reviews in the media as secretary of State, but can cite few concrete accomplishments other than projecting a positive image. That's not a shortcoming. Projecting American values abroad is what a secretary of State does, says Matt Bennett, a co-founder of Third Way, a centrist Democratic group. A secretary of State must broadcast U.S. values and "have a little bit of steel in the velvet glove, and she's done that with Israel, and with North Korea. She calibrates very well on the world stage."

When Clinton withdrew from the presidential race in June 2008, she cast her defeat in the context of having come further than any woman before, declaring to applause, "Although we weren't able to shatter this highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it, and the light is shining through like never before." As the third woman to be named secretary of State, Clinton didn't break any barriers, but filling the Defense job would be another big crack in that glass ceiling for Clinton and the 18 million voters who wanted to see her become president.

The guessing game around Hillary tells us how much has changed since she campaigned unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination. The pundits said she overstayed her welcome on the campaign trail, and that Bill Clinton was out of control, his wish to see his wife in the White House overwhelming his good sense. "Never, ever underestimate the Clintons," says Bennett. "We thought his reputation was shot and now he's back, popular as ever. They're unbelievably resilient and resourceful."

It's unlikely that anybody is sitting in the White House moving personnel boxes around on a chart, and slotting Hillary into the Defense Department. But when it comes time to name Gates' replacement, President Obama will want the very best possible person, "and that will require that he at least think about Clinton," says Bennett. "I can't imagine a single person would object to her based on her sex, and she would sail through Senate confirmation. I get why she's being considered."
And so does everybody else who's watched Clinton persevere through the trials and tribulations of a turbulent marriage, a rocky tenure in the White House, to ultimately win a Senate seat and then appointment to the highest diplomatic post in the government. Whatever comes next, she can handle it.