"Article One, Section Six of the U.S. Constitution says:
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Essentially, you cannot take a job if the salary was increased during your current congressional term. And the salary for cabinet officials has gone up in the past year. Even if it is lowered back down, constitutional scholars say that may not be enough to fix the problem.
The question is whether this would be an issue at confirmation - if Clinton is nominated to the post - and who would raise it. Senators traditionally grant their colleagues some deference and it could be considered politics at its worst if Republicans try to block her nomination with this argument. But senators may be loathe to vote for something scholars tell them is unconstitutional.
But the moment Obama makes the nomination, he violates the Constitution." -- Wake the Flock Up
"Foreseeing a Clinton State Dept., Israelis and Arabs retool their expectations
Bernat Armangue / Associated Press Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near the town of Ramallah. Hillary Rodham Clinton was an early advocate of the barrier separating Israel from the West Bank. President-elect Barack Obama has yet to voice support for it.
Israel is applauding her all-but-certain nomination as a check on Obama, while the news has damped Arabs' hopes of a swing away from Bush policies
by Richard Boudreaux, Jeffrey Fleishman and Paul Richter
December 1, 2008
Reporting from Cairo, Washington and Jerusalem — Nearly a month after Barack Obama's election, his reported decision to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of State is causing Arabs and Israelis to readjust expectations of his administration's policies toward the Middle East.
During the campaign, Obama carried the hopes of many Arabs for a new brand of diplomacy more open to their views, one that would revive America's power and prestige in the region and end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israelis viewed Obama as a less reliable friend than John McCain, his Republican rival, or Clinton, who touted a deep affinity for the Jewish state in her bid for the Democratic nomination.
Cautiously, Israelis are now applauding Clinton's all-but-certain nomination as a sign that Obama can be trusted to act firmly against Iran's nuclear ambitions and to refrain from pressing Israel to accept a weak, violence-prone Palestinian state on its borders.
Arabs and especially Palestinians, on the other hand, say the news has damped their optimism that Obama will veer from the Bush administration's hawkish policies and from what they call America's long-standing pro-Israel tilt.
"I was frankly surprised by this choice," said Manar Shorbagy, an expert on American foreign policy who teaches at the American University in Cairo. "Obama's talking about bringing diplomacy back to a U.S. foreign policy that has been militarized under President Bush. Sen. Clinton has different ideas. She voted for the Iraq war and has supported many things Bush has done in his two terms."
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As first lady and as New York's junior senator, she has taken positions, some at odds with Obama's, that appeal to Israelis and Jewish voters at home. She was an early advocate of the barrier separating Israel from the West Bank (Obama has yet to voice support for it) and of Jerusalem as the "eternal and indivisible capital of Israel."
Like Obama, she has said the United States should not negotiate with Hamas, the Iranian-backed militant group that runs the Gaza Strip. During the primary campaign she criticized Obama's willingness to negotiate with Iran and declared that the United States could "obliterate" Iran if it launched a nuclear attack on Israel.
Strange how Sunni and Shia are cutting each others' throats one day, then teaming up on terror the next, 'eh? Pffffffffffttt!!!!
And notice how Hiltery's use of "obliterate" was hardly ever brought up -- but Ahmadinejad can be constantly misquoted in the Zionist press.
See: The Difference Between Obliterate and Wipe Off the Map
"Her friendship and support of the Jewish people and Israel is second to none," said Danny Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States....
Oh, well, isn't that just ducky! And how does she feel about the UNITED STATES, huh? I mean, that is WHO she is allegedly serving!!!!
Israelis say they're more comfortable about Obama with Clinton on the team, an added reassurance after the appointment of Rahm Emanuel, a Jew whose father once had links to a militant Zionist organization, as White House chief of staff.
Notice how the ZIONIST PRESS won't call the JEWS TERRORISTS?
Nor will they point out that Emanuel is MOSSAD'S MAN in the White House!
"Israel would get a fair hearing with her," said Israeli historian Michael Oren, as Obama plots diplomatic overtures to Iran and decides how hard to press for concessions to the Palestinians.
Like ISRAEL DOESN'T GET a FAIR HEARING NOW?!! Pfffffffftttt!!!!!
After a year of fruitless talks brokered by the Bush administration, Israelis are in no mood to be pushed into a deal with the Palestinian Authority while its leadership is in disarray and Hamas militants rule Gaza....
And therefore, THERE WILL BE NONE!
--more--"
