Susan Rice

Kamala Harris Becomes Highest Ranked Woman Leader In American History, With Nancy Pelosi Next!

Vice President Elect Kamala Harris will become the highest ranked woman leader in American history, when she takes the oath as Vice President on January 20, 2021.

She will be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and right behind her in the line of succession will be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

And if President Elect Joe Biden decides to choose a woman to be Secretary of State, then three of the top four in the line of succession will be women, with only the President Pro Tempore of the Senate being male, either Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa or Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, depending on what happens with the two Georgia Senate runoffs on January 5, 2021.

Already, we have had three women serving as Secretary of State—Madeleine Albright under Bill Clinton in his second term; Condoleezza Rice under George W. Bush in his second term; and Hillary Clinton under Barack Obama in his first term.

The bet is that former National Security Adviser and Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who is African American, will be chosen by Joe Biden to be his Secretary of State, although Wendy Sherman, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, who is white, serving from 2011-2015 under Barack Obama, is also a possible choice, and certainly will be utilized in some way by Joe Biden.

A Suggested Joe Biden Cabinet For 2021 Difficult To Formulate Before The Election Results Are Clear!

Thinking ahead about a suggested Joe Biden Cabinet for 2021, it is difficult to formulate before the election results are clear.

If the Senate goes Democratic massively, to say 53-55 seats, then it might be possible to have one or two US Senators in the Cabinet, but having to take into consideration whether the governor in such states is a Democrat, so that Republicans do not gain a seat by such Senator joining the Biden Cabinet.

The same goes for the US House of Representatives, which hopefully will see a 10 gain seat for the Democrats to about 245-250 seats, and then allow some House members to be Biden Cabinet officers.

Of course, there are former members in the Cabinet or sub Cabinet from the Presidencies of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who might be factored in to possible Cabinet posts under Joe Biden, with one example being former National Security Adviser Susan Rice in the Obama Administration.

So trying to formulate a list is difficult, and much of it may be too speculative and or unrealistic at this time.

So just a few suggestions of who might be selected to be part of the Biden Cabinet or other top aides and advisers. besides Susan Rice mentioned above.

It would seem likely at least one Republican would be put into the Biden Cabinet, as is customary, and it would seem to me that the most appropriate would be former Ohio Governor and former Congressman John Kasich.

Also possible is former Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent or former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake.

At the same time, some former Democratic contenders in the Presidential Primaries of 2020 would seem fit to put into the Cabinet, including possibly the following:

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Former San Antonio Mayor and Secretary of Housing And Urban Development Julian Castro

Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke

Notice just from this list the wide diversity of just this short list of potential candidate for the Biden Cabinet—African American female; former Republican Governor, Congressman, and Senator; former Mayors; former Obama Cabinet member; a gay male former Mayor Presidential candidate; and a Latino and Asian contender for President

Time To End The Vice Presidential Sweepstakes: Best Choice Is Either Kamala Harris Or Susan Rice

We are now in the month of August, two weeks away from the Democratic National Convention.

It is past time for former Vice President Joe Biden to select his running mate, which seems clearly will be a woman of color.

And despite promotion of other candidates, the two best, most logical, are:

California Senator Kamala Harris

Former National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice

Typically, Democrats who are Presidential nominees, select a sitting United States Senator, as they have done in every election since 1944, except 1972 and 1984, although in 1972, the original selection was Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, who bowed out over concerns that he had psychiatric care. The fact was that Eagleton was perfectly stable for the rest of his life, and served another 14 years in the US Senate, but there was hysteria at the time about mental illness.

Imagine now with a President who is clearly mentally ill, the irony of it all!

Kennedy brother in law Sargent Shriver, who had been head of the Peace Corps and the War on Poverty, and Ambassador to France, all appointed positions, replaced Eagleton as the Vice Presidential running mate of Senator George McGovern in 1972.

Earlier, Henry A. Wallace, who had been Secretary of Agriculture under Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first two terms, was the Vice Presidential nominee in 1940, and served during that third term of FDR, but then dropped for Senator Harry Truman in 1944.

So only Wallace and Shriver ran for Vice President, without having been elected.

It seems time to add Susan Rice to that list, as she is extremely qualified and experienced in foreign policy, which is being underrated as a significant factor, due to all of the domestic turmoil going on in the nation in 2020.

Her strength is also that she knows Joe Biden very well, has worked well with him under Barack Obama, and their friendship is significant.

Harris has critics who think her debate challenges to Joe Biden should eliminate her, but she is also very qualified and would be a good choice.

Either way, both ladies are born in 1964, and would be 56 upon taking the oath, the ideal average age for Presidents historically.

So either one of these two women is the best qualified, and my projection is that Biden will pick Susan Rice, so we shall see how accurate I am on this prediction in the next few days to week.

The Best Candidates To Be Vice President For Joe Biden

Within the next few weeks, Joe Biden will be selecting his Vice Presidential running mate, with the strong possibility that the woman he chooses could be the next President after Biden, whether by succession, as Biden would be the oldest first term President on Inauguration Day, or by election after Biden has left the Presidency.

There has been much speculation about a very large number of potential choices, but this author believes that three candidates stand out above all others in their credentials.

My first choice, and preferred, is former National Security Adviser and earlier Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. She has more foreign policy experience than any other potential candidate. She would be 56 on Inauguration Day, the precise average age of all Presidents when combined together, and she has worked for many years with Joe Biden, and gets along very well with him.

The two together would be a fantastic team on foreign policy and national security, an area badly damaged by Donald Trump, and an area not as much paid attention to by many, but really significant. Her major liability may be that she has never been elected to any political office, but she has tons of experience under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

My second choice, which is speculated about as a “dream”, would be former First Lady Michelle Obama, who would be 57 by Inauguration Day. Many observers feel that if she was the choice of Joe Biden, it would guarantee victory in November.

Michelle Obama is much admired and respected, is very intelligent, and knows a lot from being the wife of the 44th President, but she also has never been elected to office, although that is not a requirement. However, she has given no hint of interest, and it highly unlikely that she would accept the Vice Presidency, but she would be a fantastic choice.

My third choice is California Senator Kamala Harris, who would be 56 on Inauguration Day, with the interesting point that all three ladies in this group were born in 1964, with Obama in January, Harris in October, and Rice in November.

Harris has been a Senator for four years, and earlier was District Attorney of San Francisco for seven years, and California Attorney General for six years, before being elected to the Senate in 2016. Being an elected official who campaigned for President, she has more controversies about her career in law enforcement and her votes and viewpoints as a US Senator than does Rice or Obama, but she would be an inspiring choice, often called the “female Barack Obama”.

We shall see if one of these three is the nominee, but this author and blogger feels all three are way above the competition, and whoever is selected will play a major role in the future of American government!

The Best African American Female Vice Presidential Choice For Joe Biden

The African American Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart today published a piece, in which he discussed four prominent African American female contenders to be Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential running mate.

Capehart wrote about Georgia former state legislator Stacey Abrams; Orlando, Florida Congresswoman Val Demings; former National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice; and California Senator Kamala Harris.

Capehart made the case for all four women, and concluded that he believed that while all four are qualified to be Vice President, and potentially succeed to the Presidency, that Kamala Harris was his choice.

This blogger and author wishes to say that Capehart is correct, that Kamala Harris is the best qualified, and in my mind, the only other one of this group who is ready to take over the Presidency on a moment’s notice is Susan Rice with her foreign policy experience, but no elective experience.

Abrams is interesting, but has never been a leader on the state executive level, and Demings has her police chief background, but has only been a Congresswoman since 2017.

So assuming that Joe Biden decides to pick a woman of color, it makes the most sense to select Kamala Harris.

If however, he decides to avoid race as a factor, then his best choice is Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The odds seem good one of these Senators will be the ultimate Vice Presidential choice for Joe Biden.

Misogyny And The Republican Party’s Doom, Short Term And Long Term

The Republican Party has displayed, again and again, its total lack of respect for women in so many ways!

Not only have they worked to deny women their basic human rights to their own bodies, and had candidates and office holders who debate what rape is.

Not only have they now worked in Texas and other southern states to deny women who are married or divorced the ability to vote by making an issue of their use of maiden names and married names that do not match on IDs, so as to take away the right to vote. Such is the case with a Texas judge recently challenged because she has an ID with her middle name but has also used her married name on other documents and in public, and is well known, and yet is being told they do not match, so she should be denied the right to vote, although never challenged for the past half century! And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

And not only these examples above, but also the total lack of respect the Republicans have for women who serve in the Obama Administration. So we have had nasty attacks on the honesty and competence of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former United Nations Ambassador and now National Security Adviser Susan Rice; and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

These three women have devoted their lives to public service in magnificent ways, and are suffering from misogynistic attacks of a party only too willing to attack, while not being embarrassed by the asinine behavior of such women, including Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, but not limited just to those two women!

The GOP is dooming its future, as already, the majority of women vote Democratic, so continuation of their misogynistic attitudes is a losing strategy, short term and long term!

Appointment Of Susan Rice To Be National Security Adviser A Great Move!

President Obama has selected UN Ambassador Susan Rice to be his National Security Adviser, a great move for our foreign policy team!

Rice was shabbily treated in the aftermath of the Benghazi, Libya tragedy, and lost the opportunity to be considered for the position of Secretary of State, due to Republican attacks, denigrating her qualifications which are exceptional.

But now, the position of National Security Adviser is her new position, one which does not require Senate confirmation, and it is not only a good move, but also an appropriate smack in the face of the Republican critics, who cannot stop Rice’s elevation.

Obama’s foreign policy and national security team is now complete, with Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and American foreign policy is in good hands for the next four years!

Second Term Presidencies Are Difficult: The Odds Against Success Of Barack Obama!

When one examines two term Presidencies, it is clear that there is a great likelihood of disappointment and failure as the President becomes a “lame duck”, and particularly, so after the midterm elections, as everyone looks forward to the race for his successor in office.

The following Presidents had difficult second terms:

Thomas Jefferson–with the Chesapeake Affair
James Madison–with the British attack on Washington DC during the War of 1812
Ulysses S. Grant–with the Panic of 1873 and exposure of the Credit Mobilier scandals
Grover Cleveland–with the Panic of 1893 and the Pullman Strike
Woodrow Wilson–with the First World War and the Treaty Of Versailles and his stroke
Franklin D. Roosevelt–with the failure of the Supreme Court “Packing” Plan and Recession Of 1937-1938
Harry Truman–with the Korean War and the Red Scare (McCarthyism)
Richard Nixon–with the Watergate Scandal
Ronald Reagan–with the Iran-Contra Scandal
Bill Clinton–with the Monica Lewinsky Scandal and the Impeachment Trial
George W. Bush–with the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Hurricane Katrina and failed attempt to privatize Social Security

The only Presidents to have successful second terms were:

George Washington
James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
Theodore Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Barack Obama hopes to bring about:

Immigration Reform Legislation
Gun Control Legislation
Climate Change Legislation
Stability in International Affairs

The likelihood of success is very doubtful, however, with so much division, conflict, turmoil, and polarization, caused by the Tea Party Movement and the Republican control of the House of Representatives.

At most, Obama might be able to promote changes in the judiciary, particularly on the Supreme Court, if vacancies occur, as is expected, but even there, it is assured there will be major battles over every appointment, and the possibility of filibustering nominees.

This reality is already showing itself with the interference and opposition to Susan Rice to be Secretary of State, before she was ever considered for nomination, and now Chuck Hagel, a possible choice for Secretary of Defense, who despite being a Republican, has already built up major opposition in the party that he represented in the Senate for 12 years from the state of Nebraska!

There seems the likelihood that no matter what Obama does or says, he will have vehement opposition, not only during the first two years, but even in his last two years as a “lame duck”, having less influence each month as the Presidential Election Of 2016 approaches!

The Loony Politics Of South Carolina

South Carolina, the “Rebel” state which started the Civil War at Fort Sumter in 1861, has become one of the looniest states in American politics!

Not only is it the state of Congressman Joe Wilson, who yelled out that President Barack Obama was lying, during a State of the Union Address.

Not only is it the state of Governor Nikki Haley, hailed because she is the second Indian American Governor, after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, but who has the most extremist views on many topics, similar to Jindal.

Not only is it the state of Jim DeMint, the leader of the Tea Party Senators, who now is leaving the Senate to join the Heritage Foundation, a right wing think thank.

Not only is it the state of newly appointed Senator Tim Scott, the first African American Republican Senator since Edward Brooke of Massachusetts in the 1960s and 1970s—a man nothing like Brooke, but rather closer in extremist views to fellow African American Republican Congressman Allen West of Florida, who lost his reelection to the House this November. Scott favors cuts in food stamps, HIV AIDS support; called for the impeachment of President Obama over the debt limit; and wants billions of dollars in aid to the oil industry, among other crazy, extremist ideas.

This is also the state of Senator Lindsey Graham, who has tied himself to Senator John McCain in going after Susan Rice, United Nations Ambassador, over the Benghazi, Libya incident, for which she had no blame, and therefore negating her chance to be Secretary of State in tne next term of Barack Obama.

But now to top it off, former Governor Mark Sanford, who resigned over his love affair with a woman in Argentina, and whose wife divorced him, has decided to run for Congressman Scott’s seat in the House of Representatives, a seat he once held before becoming Governor, as a way to revive his flagging political career.

Oh, and by the way, Scott’s House seat, once held by Sanford, and maybe again, is in Charleston, where the Civil War began at Fort Sumter!

So has anything changed in South Carolina since 1861? One has to wonder!

The Case For A Team Of John Kerry And Chuck Hagel As Barack Obama’s National Security Team

President Barack Obama has already faced problems with his thought to appoint UN Ambassador Susan Rice to the State Department, and she dropped out and allowed him to move toward the appointment of Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, to be his Secretary of State, but not yet announced officially.

But now, his planned but unannounced appointment of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to be his Secretary of Defense in his second term as President is meeting resistance.

The point to be made is that any President should be able to choose his team, particularly a National Security team, that fits his desires, and therefore, automatically, the President should be given slack to pick who he wishes.

The opposition to Hagel comes from those in the Pentagon who do not like that Hagel has said in the past that there is waste in the Defense Department that can be cut, a statement which has absolute validity. It is clear that Hagel would widh to “clean house” if he came to the Pentagon, but that is good, and should not be a reason to deny him the post.

Also, the Pro Israel Lobby, and particulary AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), is against Hagel because he has, at times, in the US Senate, been critical of Israeli policy in the West Bank, building Jewish settlements.

While certainly AIPAC can have its views on any nominee, it should not be allowed to deny a President who he wants, and the important point, that is necessary to say again and again, is that under no circumstances will Barack Obama and his government ever allow any harm to Israel, and this was made very clear in the recent Gaza Strip events when the IRON DOME system provided and financed by the United States, saved Israel from greater attack. But our government cannot and should not feel that it can be dictated to by ANY foreign government or pressure group to have to agree one hundred percent on every action and statement of a foreign government!

Also, in favor of Hagel, as well as Kerry, is that both were Vietnam War veterans, and understand the horrors of war, and it is great to have two such men, both having served in the Senate, and possessing great principles and courage, to head our National Security team under President Obama in his second term.

So, hopefully, the soon announcement of the appointments of Kerry and Hagel will be forthcoming!