Rice out...

[beachmom]

6. Yeah, it's crazy out there. I was told to "shut up" for daring to criticize the POTUS

I think the way he did this was not good.

First, he goes out of his way to give a full throated defense of Rice, hinting he might nominate her for SoS.
Then, a media storm ensues even bigger than before with attack after attack on Rice.
Third, the White House is nearly Radio Silence on what they're going to do.
Now, she withdraws.

I mean, if you want a fight you have to fight from the beginning, and do so consistently every day. They didn't do that, and that wasn't fair to Rice. I do hear she might end up as National Security Adviser, which might be a good fit for her.

Here is a NBC report on Kerry:

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/13/15889703-with-rice-out-attention-shifts-to-john-kerry-for-state-post?chromedomain=nbcpolitics&lite

Now that Rice has withdrawn her nomination to the post, as NBC News reported exclusively on Thursday, all eyes turn to the onetime Democratic nominee. An official close to the process told NBC's Andrea Mitchell late Thursday that Kerry is now almost certain to get the job. "There were two people on the list," the person said. "Two minus one is one."

Uh-huh. I'll believe it when I see it.