If President Obama Appoints Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as Secretary of State He Will Once Again Be Turning Electoral Victory Into Defeat

Repeating 2009, All Over Again

That President Obama is in many ways politically tone deaf is pretty obvious.  After winning the election in 2008 he promptly gave away Democratic advantages in states like Kansas and Arizona by appointing governors of those states to his cabinet.  In Arizona this political offense resulted in the ascension of an offensive politician to the Governor’s seat.  Democrats are still reeling from this political disaster and the good citizens of Arizona are still suffering from Gov. Brewer's administration.

The idea of appointing John Kerry to be the new Secretary of State is not a good idea.  Mr. Kerry has been a so-so Senator, and a failed Presidential candidate.  It is hard to see how he has any advantages over other potential appointees.  But there is a huge disadvantage.  His appointment would open up his Senate seat, and the likely winner of a special election is Republican Scott Brown.

It took a heroic effort to get Mr. Brown, who at best could be described as a useful idiot, out of the Senate.  Appointing Mr. Kerry and allowing Mr. Brown back in the Senate would reduce the Democratic advantage in that body to 54 to 46.   From Taegan Goddard.
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"As I've said many times before, victory and defeat is temporary. Depending on what happens, and where we go, all of us, we may obviously meet again."

-- Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), in a speech the Boston Globe describes as laying the groundwork for his eventual return to the U.S. Senate after being defeated for re-election.

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 It would make it one less seat the Republicans have to win in 2014 to take over the Senate.  And 2014 looks like a bad year for Democrats.  A lot of older Democrats are up, some of whom will probably retire, and in the sixth year of a President’s term the party in power usually loses big time.

So putting Mr. Kerry at State would give the country an average person in that job, and further threaten the Democratic wall against Republican extremism.  So only an indifferent President would do such a thing.  Which is probably why it will happen.