Interesting article of SOS choice from Latin America

[karynnj]

7. This all makes sense

To me, it will also tell us a lot about Obama. At this point, in two important ways, Rice is paradoxically the status quo choice - in spite of the out roar. She is far less likely to be an independent voice in the inner circle. It also means that Obama, even in a second term, is unlikely to do anything that different from the long term American policy.

If Rice is picked, it may free Kerry, while he will obviously still be loyal, to be a more independent voice than he was - though he has been willing to take independent positions - including the strong position he took on Honduras which was 180 degrees from where Clinton (and Obama) ended up.

Remembering that in one article where Admiral Hoffman, one of the SBVT was interviewed, he spoke of Kerry speaking to him in 2004 and said he asked why Kerry protested - Kerry's response per Hoffman was "his conscience". In Going Upriver, Bob Kerrey when speaking of Kerry leading those protests, he spoke of how if you wanted a political career, you would never do that. The same thing with going after the Contras and BCCI - and Kerry obviously knew neither would be popular things. (Gore and the Clintons supporting aiding (legally) the Contras were never hurt by that.) It may well be that the only position leading foreign policy that Kerry could get and retain his independence and ability to follow his conscience is chair of SFRC. It makes me return to my regret that the country did not have the courage to elect this moral man of integrity and knowledge, but it might have been fear of those very things that made some core Democrats less than enthusiastic.