Obama picks John Kerry as secretary of state

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., leads a hearing on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi,??President Barack Obama will formally nominate Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry on Friday to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, a choice expected to win easy approval by the Senate. The move came after Obama?s Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, withdrew from consideration rather than face a painful confirmation battle with an uncertain outcome.

A senior administration official, who requested anonymity, said Obama would announce the move this afternoon.

Kerry, 69, has played an important role in advancing Obama?s foreign policy over the past four years. In Congress, Kerry has advanced priorities like a landmark nuclear arms control accord with Russia, known as New START, and has undertaken sensitive missions overseas. He visited Syria in 2009 to take the measure of President Bashar al-Assad, and traveled to Pakistan several times to defuse diplomatic crises. At times, he has appeared to be ahead of the administration on policies it ultimately embraced, like intervention in Libya.

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam Vet who protested the war upon his return home, also played an important role in the 2008 presidential campaign, frequently and sharply criticizing Mitt Romney?s approach to?and even understanding of?foreign affairs. He also played the former Massachusetts governor in Obama?s debate preparations.

The late Edward Kennedy?s endorsement of Obama in 2008 is often cited as a pivotal moment in the young politician's rise, but ?it was Kerry in 2004 who set the future president on the path to the White House by giving him the keynote slot at that year's Democratic National Convention?in Boston. That speech instantly gave? the then-Illinois state senator a national audience and national reputation for inspiring rhetoric?setting him on his own path to the White House.

The choice, however, could come with a political headache for Democrats who worry that Kerry?s Senate seat could now fall to recently defeated Republican Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.

Obama?s choice of Kerry is the president?s first Cabinet nomination since he won reelection. Other top aides known to be eyeing the exits include Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Obama will also have to pick a new CIA director to replace retired general David Petraeus, who resigned that post after admitting to an affair with his biographer.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-picks-john-kerry-secretary-state-154515999--politics.html

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