Hillary As Secretary Of State?

There are reports swirling around that Hillary Clinton will be tapped to be the Obamessiah's Secretary of State.

No confirmation has been made yet, but this is a very interesting pick for many reasons.  I've heard any number of Right-leaning commentators offer possible strategies and explanations, and most think this is quite a brilliant move.  Since most of them had very similar takes on the issue, I'll just lump them all together without sourcing.  These seem to be the biggest ones I'm hearing a lot:

1. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.  This is one of the more obvious reasons - it would allow Obama to keep an eye on Hillary, and, since she would be working directly for him, it would likely keep her in check and out of trouble.  He might also enjoy bossing her around just for the sake of it.
2. No 2012 for HRC.  One of the prevailing theories on the Right in recent months is that Hillary will play nice for Obama's time in office and then make another go of it for herself.  If Hillary is the SecState, it is extremely unlikely that she'd be able to go up against Obama in 2012, even if he screws up badly.
3. Fixing the Senate.  There are two aspects on this one, and both make a lot of sense.  First, it is a real possibility that Hillary could become the Senate Majority Leader, which would put her in a position to oppose Obama on certain bills.  She could remain 'loyal' most of the time, but also strike hard on a few key issues where she would like some distance.  This high-profile position would also help her in a potential run for Pres. in 2012.  The second aspect is that Obama is going to be able to shore up some vacancies in the Senate with lapdogs.  Hillary, Joe Biden, and Ted Kennedy (not to mention himself) are all -- if Hillary becomes SecState -- going to be leaving holes.  Obama would have the opportunity to engineer their replacements with people who owe their entire political career to him, and thus, will do anything and everything he wants.
4. Terrorism.  It is pretty common knowledge -- through Joe 'Gaffe Machine' Biden as much as anything else -- that we can reasonably expect a major terrorist attack on American soil in the first months of Obama's presidency.  By appointing Hillary SecState, it puts her on the hook almost as much as him for any failures that may occur in dealing with that assumed attack.
5. Repayment.  Remember how Obama promised to help Clinton pay off millions of dollars in campaign debt when she bowed out of the race?  He has yet to do that.  But, the Clintons run a foundation that accepts 'donations' from overseas benefactors; those donations have slowed dramatically since Obama took the nomination, and putting Hillary back in the spotlight in a major role would likely start them up again.  Also, there are significant questions surrounding the Clinton Foundation and its 'fundraising' practices, so appointing Hillary SecState would essentially buy her off while protecting her (via his direction of the federal government) from serious investigation while the money rolled in.  It's a collective back-scratching arrangement in which they both benefit.
6. Unity and all that crap.  Obviously, this would look like a gesture of good faith on his part, and hers, if she accepts the position, despite the fact that they hate each other.
7. Ditching the Clintons.  This one is pretty speculative, but we all know that there's no love lost between the Clintons and the Obamas.  A 63-page questionnaire is being required of anyone hoping to work in the Obama administration, and it includes questions about associations, fundraising, and other grey areas of life.  It's a massive intrusion into personal affairs, and would certainly be lambasted if a Republican tried it, but hey, this is the Obamessiah, so it's being overlooked.  The ultimate irony is that Obama himself wouldn't likely pass muster, but that's another debate.  Anyway, there's some speculation that Obama might just try to bury the Clintons for good by offering her the position, then withdrawing the offer based on the fact that she failed her questionnaire.  He could blame it all on her (or Bill), coming out looking like the grown-up while knifing Hillary in the back.  You know the media wouldn't give the Clintons the time of day to make their case, so they would be essentially shut out of the corridors of real power, and relegated to the back seat of the Democrat party.

So, there's the latest from the rumor mill, and the subsequent analysis.  We'll see how it all plays out in the end, but it's interesting to speculate on the hidden power plays that must be going on behind closed doors.  Whatever happens, I'll keep you informed!

There's my two cents.