What Would Jefferson do?

Foreign Policy blogger Laura Rozen turned to Ploughshares Fund's Joe Cirincine to put the news of Secretary of State Clinton's surprise pick of California Representative Ellen Tauscher for the department's top arms control job into perspective. Clinton had indicated earlier that her choice as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security was former Ploughshares Fund grantee Robert Einhorn of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  Einhorn reportedly withdrew his name from consideration. 

Comparing the two, Cirincione told Rozen, "Both are top shelf ... Bob Einhorn is the Thomas Jefferson of arms control—erudite, scholarly, and experienced.  Ellen Tauscher is more Andrew Jackson--strategic, powerful, with a populist touch.  Both are deeply knowledgeable, Bob with treaties and diplomacy, Ellen with nuclear programs and politics."  

He continued, "Trying to stop Tauscher from getting a treaty ratified would like trying to stop Sherman from marching to Atlanta. Ideally, Secretary Clinton can get the best of both worlds, having Ellen Tauscher as Undersecretary and Bob Einhorn as a special advisor...There may have been a more powerful bench at the Department, but not in the past few decades.  This is looking very good.  Sync this up with the Office of the Vice President, UN Ambassador Susan Rice, and the team assembling at the National Security Council and you have a battle group that should be able to win any diplomatic war."