John Quincy Adams later served in the House, which was then a more prestigious body than the Senate (and not necessarily a demotion from the Presidency). William Howard Taft was later Chief Justice, but that might not considered be a demotion either. John Tyler was elected to the *Confederate * House, if you want to count that.
He has to explain NAFTA. He spearheaded it. I want to know if it came out like he thought it would.
I completely agree. There was a bit of a stink when JFK appointed his little brother as Attorney General. Although he grew in the job and is now recognized by most historians as one of our better AGs, Congress passed nepotism prohibitions in 5 USC 2302 (a Federal public official can’t “appoint… to a civilian position any individual who is a relative… [of such official who] exercises jurisdiction or control as such an official”). 5 USC 3110 defines “relative” to include, among other things, husband or wife.
I suppose Bill might ask Congress for a waiver, but why would he - or President Hillary - bother?
This is a reflection of the problem Bill had at the start of his first term re: what to do with Hillary. If any other democrat had been elected in '92, Hillary would likely have become a cabinet secretary, or under-secretary. Since her husband was President, that couldn’t happen. Sometimes a President has to fire his/her cabinet secretary. Firing your spouse just puts one more level of crap on the issue.
Putting Bill in the cabinet is harder now thna in '92, since he’s been President, and is better known and better established politically than Hillary. I think it’s unlikely anyone will appoint Bill to be Secretary of State, or that he’d accept. He does have significant qualifications for the job, but I don’t think it will happen.
What should Hillary do with Bill, beyond being “First Gentleman”?
My suggestion - appoint Bill to chair (or co-chair) a commission to figure out what to do with the detainees in Guantanamo, and any other remaining GWOT prisons. It’s a hard problem, and I have very limited wisdom on the issue myself. We need a solution that has a solid legal basis, while keeping the bad guys locked up.
Yes, I’m implying the Bush administration’s basis for putting and keeping people in Guantanamo, etc., is less-than-solid. No, I am not a lawyer. I’ll shut the bleep up now.
I could try to ask him. You want I should make the effort?
Hillary would likely have been a cabinet secretary. Did you mean that? She was a lawyer in little old Arkansas, with very limited political or Washington experience. A smart, lawyer from and ivy league school granted. Her husband was a governor, and she worked as a staffer on the impeachment hearings, but cabinet level? Are you kidding? No way.
And what are Clinton’s qualifications for Secretary of State? What major international accomplishments are on his resume? Remember his expertise, such as it was, was in domestic areas. He at times show little interest in international affairs. Only at the end of his term did he really push for a Middle East settlement, and he failed at that. He’d make a terrible Secretary of State.
I’ll bump this to respond (finally) …
Yes, she was in li’l ol’ Arky. But she was married to the Governor, had been in politics forever, was on the staff of the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate, and had been on the board of the Children’s Defense Fund. She worked on national campaings. She was well known in Democratic political circles, if not to the general public outside of Arkansas.
If a Democrat other than Bill had become president in '92, IMO she would have made a credible candidate as Undersecretary of Health and Human Services, possibly Secretary. Or some other “touchy-feely” department. I’m not saying she’d have been Secretary of Defense or State, but maybe one of the departments where “What about the children?” is frequently asked. HUD and Labor are other possibilites.
Bill Clinton in 1992 - no way qualified for Secreatry of State. After 2000, yes in terms of experience.
Bill pushed for the passage of NAFTA. Like it or not, it was a foreign policy issue. He was involved in the Balkans war and peace, in Somailia, in Haiti, in Middle East diploamcy, Northern Ireland peace talks, involved with issues of terrorism, met many foreign leaders. At the end of his presidency he also pushed African issues to the fore. Wiki
If someone wanted to nominate him to be Secretary of State, one could say he was now qualified.
But I don’t think any sitting president wants an ex-president rattling around their cabinet. If Colin Powell became president, would another president of the same party want him in the cabinet eight or so years after Powell left office? “Who is really in charge?”, many people would ask. If the first woman president had her husband in the cabinet, many many people would ask “Who is really in charge?”
Many people asked that same question while Bill was in office. Also while George HW, Ronny, Jimmy, and Jerry were in office.
Among Hillary’s many challenges to becoming president, and being a successful president, is finding something for Bill to do. I don’t think the cabinet is the way to go, but another democratic president could do worse than Bill.