...(the news is slow). Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is expected to retire soon (that's not one of my predictions). President Obama will replace him with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden will move over to State, and Obama will select his heir apparent as vice president from a list of individuals including, but not limited to, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, or Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine.
Kooky talk, you say? Perhaps. But I've read Hillary's name in connection with the Supreme Court before. I've also read that she's rapidly getting tired of her job at State; the travel, in particular, is tremendously draining (and she has a wedding to plan!). The Supreme Court could actually be a better fit for her interests, her voice on the Court would be a reliably progressive one, and Senate confirmation would be a walk in the park. Four years at State would make more sense, but Stevens's retirement could move that timetable up. Remember, man plans and God laughs.
Joe Biden, human gaffe machine, at State? Am I crazy? Maybe; it might be just too great a stretch after all. But that was the job Biden originally wanted, he sees himself more in that role, and it could also head off another Dick Cheney-type dilemma--a veep too old to run in 2016, leaving a messy succession. (John Kerry might actually be a more logical selection for State. He originally wanted the job, too, and was an early supporter of Obama in '08.) Maybe Biden could switch places with someone else, like Sebelius. But HHS might turn out to be too important of a job in the wake of the health care bill's passage; implementation will be huge.
This prediction stuff can be complicated.
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