My latest on Facebook: Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State!

[gratuitous]

The background article is from yesterday's New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/20/world/europe/russia-rex-tillerson-donald-trump-secretary-of-state.html?ref=politics&_r=0

How Rex Tillerson Changed His Tune on Russia and Came to Court Its Rulers

My take on it, for any Trump voters who might stumble across it: "It appears that President Elect Trump's nominee to be Secretary of State might have a conflict or two when it comes to advancing the interests of the United States. If the business deal is good enough, Rex Tillerson finds a comfortable residence in a world without morality. Is that what Trump voters want in our foreign policy? Because that's clearly what they voted for, whether they realized it or not."

Still not ready to play nice.

[MFM008]

1. Never play nice!

.....

[On the Road]

2. How is Tillerman Different from Armand Hammer?

[gratuitous]

3. Armand Hammer was never Secretary of State?

Is this a trick question?

[On the Road]

4. No, But He Did Years of Informal Diplomacy

especially with the Soviets, under presidents from Kennedy to Bush I. He probably would have been a well-regarded nominee for Secretary of State within both parties.

Point is that Hammer was head of an oil company and had extensive ties to Soviet leaders. Seems like there are some interesting parallels with Tillerson.

[gratuitous]

5. There's a difference

Hammer indisputably had some diplomatic chops, and served informally as a go-between for the U.S. with the Soviet Union and other countries. Tillerson, though, is being nominated to be the Secretary of State. If Hammer overstepped the bounds or overpromised something, the U.S. could dial it back and say that he didn't represent the State Department. Hammer was very careful about what he said and did, and the countries that treated with him knew the limits of his brief as ambassador without portfolio.

If Tillerson is confirmed as Secretary of State, however, there's no backtracking if he allows his business interest to supersede the country's interest. According to the story in the Times, Tillerson was very opposed to Putin's dictatorship in Russia . . . until he got the chance to wet his beak. One big dollar agreement later, and Tillerson's best buds with the governing group in Russia, a group that's answerable only to itself, not the law. I don't think Tillerson has Hammer's judgment or discretion, and that bodes very badly for U.S. interests where those interests don't align with Putin's interests.

[On the Road]

6. Doubt About Loyalties is Not Particularly Damning

Hammer met with Stalin and courted other Soviet leaders at the same time he was operating Occidental Petroleum. He was Republican, Jewish, and his father helped found the Socialist Labor Party of the USA. Lots of room for doubt and theories.

I just mention Hammer because he is the only person who makes sense of the pick.