Hillary! and Hilarity

So Hillary testified before congress about the Benghazi debacle.

That hearing was devastating. Some thing Hillary! outsmarted Trey Gowdy by wanting the hearing public, but she fell right into the trap. Wow she looked composed. Big deal. She told creepy jokes about Ambassador Stevens, said she had no state department computer or email, revealed that she ignored 600 requests for extra security, admitted that Ambassador Stevens had no way o contact her but Sid Blumenthal could contact her whenever she wanted, and we learned that the next day she told the president's of Libya and Egypt, as well as Chelsea (WTF?) that they new it was a terrorist attack and the video had nothing to do with it.

So let's stipulate that Hillary Clinton is a horrible Secretary of State. Worst ever, who knows? But certainly horrible.

Who are the best?

Kissinger has been a celebrity for 50 years. He can point to the Paris treaty, shuttle diplomacy, opening up China, SALT I. On a side note I had to read his history of the Congress of Vienna as an undergrad. Harold Nicholson's book is better and you don't get that Kissinger voice in your head when reading it.

How about George Schultz, Reagan's secretary of state. He provided wise council to the president and helped formulate policy that won the Cold War.

William Seward helped keep Britain and France out of the Civil War, with a huge assist from Ambassador Charles F. Adams in the case of the former, and he bought Alaska.

Of course, Seward was part of a cabinet of great men, the 'team of rivals', Stanton at the War Department, Chase (as in Chase Manhattan Bank) at treasury, all of whom were qualified to be president.

Bill Clinton himself had cabinet issues. During the first few years of his administration there was much turmoil and turn around, Sec Def Les Aspen had to resign after the Somalia debacle and Warren Christopher at State was a woman. But in his second term BC appointed some grownups to the cabinet, Robert Ruben at Treasury, later Lawrence Summers, currently being lampooned at my very own RVCC, and Madeline Albright.

Much of Clinton's turn around was not due to the cabinet but his Chief of Staff, Leon Panetta, one of the aforementioned grownups who went on to be Secretary of Defense and Director CIA for Barry. The CoS is hugely important, his temperament is key. Donald Regan was an ego-maniac who thought he was 'deputy president' in Reagan's second term. Reagan brought in Senator Howard Baker to clean things up and Reagan's last two years were quite good.