Clinton could be a mixed blessing

November 15, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — During the Democrats’ quarrelsome nominating contest, Hillary Rodham Clinton argued that she, and not upstart rival Barack Obama, had more impressive credentials as a statesman: familiarity with world leaders and problems, toughness under fire.

Now that she’s under consideration to be Obama’s pick as the nation’s top diplomat, that r sum might come in handy. Or not.

The prospect of the New York Democrat becoming the face of American diplomacy suggests that Obama is serious about assembling a “team of rivals” in the fashion of Abraham Lincoln’s wartime Cabinet, and that he is not worried about Clinton’s wattage outshining his own.

In equal measure, her possible selection as secretary of state raises red flags for allies and opponents alike.

At the top of the list of negatives is suspicion that Clinton would pursue her own agenda or mount rearguard campaigns inside the Obama administration. She was accused of doing that as first lady.

“I don’t see him wanting her there, because she would be an independent actor,” said Ray DuBois, a former Pentagon management and personnel official under President George W. Bush. He added that he doesn’t think Clinton really wants the job. “It could work, but my instincts say no.”

Then there is the potential minefield of husband Bill Clinton’s international aid and development efforts and tangled business dealings, plus his ambition and outsize persona.

Obama was also discussing the secretary of state position with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democratic official said Friday.

Leon Panetta, Bill Clinton’s chief of staff from 1994 to 1997, sees the former first lady as an attractive prospect, in part because she has the stature to be an effective voice abroad.

“I think it would be an outstanding selection because she really does understand foreign policy issues,” he said. “The Clinton name obviously opens a lot of doors in international policy, and there’s a lot of good will associated with that name, which I think is going to be particularly important as you try to repair relations around the world.”

Clinton herself has not always appeared statesmanlike. As first lady she kissed Yasser Arafat’s wife, and by doing so seemed to endorse Mrs. Arafat’s anti-Israel remarks.

Clinton was an activist first lady and took a keen interest in foreign policy. She traveled to more than 80 countries — with her husband and alone — to promote U.S. policy and the cause of women and children.

She also helped herself to a bit of extra credit along the way.

Clinton has taken credit for negotiating open borders for refugees fleeing Kosovo and standing up to the Chinese government over women’s rights.