John Kerry, the dealmaker-in-chief

[MBS]

6. Political memories can be short.

I have seen a few comments about her hawkish POV, however, as well as her lack of impact on policy (though mostly mentioned with respect to structural limitations of the post), both in connection with the Rice-Kerry debate.

I also think it must have something to do with level of expectations. Since her appt was (so far as I could tell) a surprise, I think fewer people might have expected her to do a distinguished job. Because she did better than expected, her solid performance (and I do think it was solid, even as I agree with the comments here about her shortcomings) was described as "excellent" instead of "good".

If she decides to run for President, those memories would come back pretty quickly, I think.