President Obama is obviously trying to appease the whining Hillary Clinton supporters by seriously considering her for Secretary of State? He might also be trying to prevent a potential adversary in 2012. Either way it is a serious mistake. The Clintons cannot be trusted. They are crooked to the core. It was they whom used race and anti-Muslim rhetoric to try and defeat Obama is the primaries. What will be Bill's role in all this? The primaries showed that the former president is all about himself. He will most certainly say things in the next 4 years that will embarrass the administration, if not compromise it. Bill Clinton's dirty business dealings will eventually come to light and cause a major scandal. It will also give Republicans an easy target. The Clintons are a favor of the right wing. There will be all kinds of conspiracy theories about the deals made by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. President Obama will disappoint many of his supporters who believed he would be break from the corrupt past.
He are some other perspectives:
NY Times take:
Still, the fact that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton had even met to discuss such a possibility left even some of their closest advisers and allies talking about the pros and cons of so close a partnership, and about how it would be complicated by a third wheel: Mrs. Clinton’s globe-trotting husband, former President Bill Clinton.
[...]That said, there are clear dangers for Mr. Obama as well, not least of them any lingering rivalry between the two of them after an often-contentious primary campaign. The drama-averse president-elect would also inevitably be sharing the stage with both Clintons, with all of the attention and baggage that accompany them wherever they go. And her appointment could undercut his argument that he is bringing true change to Washington.
It is not clear what room Mrs. Clinton’s presence as the nation’s top diplomat would leave for Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to be an influential player in his specialty of foreign policy. And now that his consideration of Mrs. Clinton has become so public, he faces another danger: the risk of reopening old wounds in the party and among Democratic women in particular if he does not appoint her to a top job.
[...]One potential downside for Mrs. Clinton taking a top job in the cabinet: she would presumably have to disclose much more about Mr. Clinton’s earnings, especially from foreign sources, and donors to his presidential library than they have been willing to disclose so far.
The Provocateur:
First of all, Hillary Clinton, unfortunately, comes as a package deal with her husband and ex President, Bill Clinton. If the new President wants to assure a dysfunctional Presidency allow the ex President to have a seat at the table of advisors. More than that, the ex President has been an awfully naughty boy since leaving the White House. This is an entirely different sort of naughty than his exploits in the White House. He has befriended all sorts of wily characters throughout the Middle East and even in China since leaving the White House. We still have no idea who exactly donated to the Clinton Library.
If, after all the lurid details of Bill's post Presidential life come out, Hillary is actually confirmed, then we will be spending the next four years or so analyzing whether or not each and every move she makes as Secretary of State was a payback to some befriended Middle East Shiek. Does President Obama really want his foreign policy to be viewed as some sort of a lackey for the UAE? If that is his goal, a good way to accomplish that is to pick Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State.
Also, President Elect Obama, fooling the folks into thinking you are experienced doesn't actually mean you are. Hillary Clinton spent Bill's years having tea and cake with the wives of dignitaries. Her foreign policy experience is slightly more "impressive" than yours. During a campaign, you might be able to fool the folks, but once you govern, reality sets in. Hillary Clinton is no foreign policy heavyweight, she's a foreign policy lightweight in sheep's clothing. On top of this, she derided your entire foreign policy platform. She called your idea of meeting unconditionally with foreign dictators "naive". Are you really willing to cede your political opponents fodder with uncomfortable press conferences as your Secretary of State is forced to defend you against her own words?
