Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in Chicago on Dec. 1, 2008. (AP)

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She wanted to be on her way to the Oval Office as the next U.S. president. Fate and Barack Obama had it otherwise.

Hillary Clinton, today, is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in her confirmation hearing for Secretary of State. As a fellow senator, her reception is expected to be warm. But the issues she and the country are facing couldn’t be tougher.

Gaza. Iraq. Iran. Afghanistan. New powers. Old foes. And then there’s Bill Clinton and his web of ties.

This hour, On Point: We’re talking about Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and listening in on her confirmation hearing.

You can join the conversation. What would your question be for Senator Hillary Clinton — soon to be, it appears, Madame Secretary? On Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Gaza, China, Pakistan?

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

From Washington, we’re joined by Charles Kupchan, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and professor of international relations at Georgetown University. He served on the National Security Council during President Bill Clinton’s first term. He’s author of “The End of the American Era: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Geopolitics of the 21st Century” and the forthcoming book, “How Enemies Become Friends.”

And from Paris, we’re joined by Christopher Dickey, Newsweek’s Paris bureau chief and Middle East regional editor. He recently wrote about the challenges President-elect Obama will face from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. His forthcoming book, due out next month, is “Securing the City: Inside America’s Best Counterterror Force – The NYPD.”

More links:

For a breakout of Senator Hillary Clinton’s positions historically on various foreign policy issues, see this backgrounder from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at a rally in Tampa, Florida, on October 20, 2008. (David Katz/Obama for America)

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Should Hillary Clinton be Barack Obama’s Secretary of State? Word out today that Eric Holder will be Attorney General, and much to come on that front. But it’s the thought of Clinton at the helm of the State Department and U.S. foreign policy that has Washington abuzz.

President-elect Obama appears strikingly open to a team of rivals around him — maybe. Hillary Clinton is clearly a powerhouse. But is the senator the right rival, the right powerhouse for this job?

The global stakes are high. Opinions are all over the map.

This hour, On Point: Obama, Clinton, and the next U.S. Secretary of State.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Philadelphia is Trudy Rubin, foreign affairs columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her column on Sunday, “Secretary of State deck has a wild card,” looked at Obama’s potential picks.

Joining us in our studio is Ambassador Peter Galbraith. He’s senior diplomatic fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, and was an informal foreign policy advisor to both the Obama and Clinton campaigns. He served as the first U.S. ambassador to Croatia under President Bill Clinton. He’s the author of “Unintended Consequences: How War in Iraq Strengthened America’s Enemies.”

Also with us in our studio is Robert Kuttner, founding co-editor of The American Prospect and a distinguished senior fellow at Demos, a public policy think tank. His most recent book is “Obama’s Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency.”

There was history made yesterday in the Democratic Party, the first African American to claim a major party’s presidential nomination: Barack Obama — before a rapturous crowd in Minnesota — claiming the prize after an epic campaign.

And there was mystery in the Democratic Party: Hillary Clinton, watching the same last primary results come in from South Dakota and Montana — and not conceding.

“What does Hillary want?” she asked last night in New York. We don’t yet know.

This hour, On Point: Obama makes history, Clinton does not concede.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Richard Wolffe, senior White House correspondent for Newsweek. He has been covering the presidential campaign.

E.J. Dionne, columnist for The Washington Post and a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. His latest book is “Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right”.

Madeleine Kunin, former Democratic governor of Vermont, from 1985 to 1991, and author of the new book, “Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead”.

Congressman Donald Payne, he represents the 10th Congressional District of New Jersey and last month shifted his support from Clinton to Obama.

There are just two more states — one more day — in the Democrats’ marathon primary battle. South Dakota and Montana, tomorrow — and that’s it for primary voting.

But the last chapter may already have been written in Washington this weekend, when the Democrats’ Rules Committee sat down to vote on how to treat the controversial primary results of Florida and Michigan. Seat the delgates, halve their vote, was the word.

The Clinton camp charged “hijack,” and some yelled on to Denver. Obama’s poised to claim victory.

This hour, On Point: Straight from the hall, committee members explain their vote.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

June Kronholz, political reporter for The Wall Street Journal, she covered Saturday’s meeting of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee.

James Roosevelt, Co-Chair of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, he campaigned for Bill Clinton in 1992 and later worked in the Clinton administration as an associate commissioner of the Social Security Administration. He is president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan, a Massachusetts HMO, and has remained neutral on the 2008 Democratic nomination.

Elaine Kamarck, lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a member of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Commitee. She served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 1997, and in 2000 she was a senior policy adviser to the Gore campaign. She supports Hillary Clinton.

Carol Fowler, Chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party and member of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Commitee. She’s backing Barack Obama.

In the New Deal era, the Democrats owned the white working class. In the Civil Rights era, they lost them. Not all, of course, but enough to give Republicans win after big win.

This year, with economic challenges front and center again, the math could change. But in West Virginia and North Carolina, in Kentucky and Oregon, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been dividing Democrats from within by race and class.

Can this party get over it?

This hour, On Point: race and class in the Democratic Party, after the Clinton-Obama battle.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Johanna Neuman, reporter for The Los Angeles Times.

Anna Greenberg, pollster and senior vice president at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, a Democratic strategy and consulting firm.

Wilbur Rich, professor of political science at Wellesley College and author of “African American Perspectives on the Political Science Discipline.”

Alan Abramowitz, professor of political science at Emory University and author of the forthcoming book “The Engaged Public.”

Hillary Clinton won in a romp in West Virginia, and says she will go on. Barack Obama’s camp points to the Democratic primary numbers and says he’s got it sewn up.

Meanwhile, John McCain just keeps campaigning.

Nationally, Republicans face some daunting realities and poll numbers heading toward November. But few deny John McCain’s got a real shot at the White House. While the Democrats battle, he’s hammering on issues and honing strategy.

This hour, On Point: We’ll hear about Clinton’s West Virginia victory, and catch up with the campaign of John McCain.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Anne Kornblut, national political correspondent for The Washington Post.

Jill Zuckman, national political correspondent for The Chicago Tribune.

Tony Fabrizio, Republican pollster and strategist.

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.

Barack Obama stepped out of the worst weeks of his campaign yesterday and turned in a big win in North Carolina.

Hillary Clinton took those same weeks, and a stretch of high Clinton camp spirits, and turned in a squeaker victory — a two-point win — in Indiana.

Everybody’s vowing to battle on, but the raw numbers get harder, faster for Clinton now. In delegates. In dollars. But she looks determined.

This hour, On Point: after Indiana and North Carolina, we ask top players from both camps — and you — when and how the Democrats should finally decide.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Liz Halloran, senior political writer for US News & World Report

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Democratic Congresswoman from Ohio and a supporter of Hillary Clinton

Joe Andrew, former Democratic National Committee chairman from Indiana and a supporter of Barack Obama

Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, a supporter of Hillary Clinton

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.

It ain’t over — again. Hillary Clinton pulls out a win in Pennsylvania and sends Barack Obama and superdelegates a double-digit message: Don’t count me out.

And so, the battle for the Democratic nomination goes on, and on, and on, and on. In two weeks, primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

On paper, the math and money favor Obama. Less clear now is which candidate has the mojo and momentum, and what the superdelegates are thinking.

This hour, On Point: the big news out of Pennsylvania and what it means for the Democrats.

-Jane Clayson

Guests:

Celinda Lake, Democratic strategist, president of Lake Research Partners, and author of “What Women Want.”

Ruth Marcus, editorial writer and columnist for The Washington Post.

Mark Halperin, editor-at-large and senior political analyst at Time magazine, he writes the campaign blog The Page.

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.

Between the war and the economy, it looked like a slam-dunk year for Democrats and the White House. It may still be.

But the long-slog trench warfare between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has some Democrats scared that it’s slipping away. That John McCain is making hay while the Dems duke it out.

Bill Clinton now says, “Chill out.” Everything will be fine. Not everyone’s so sure.

This hour, On Point: to chill out or freak out — Democrats weigh the truth and consequences of a long, long primary campaign.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Larry Eichel, senior political writer, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ray Fair, professor of economics at Yale University, he is author of “Predicting Presidential Elections and Other Things.”

Celinda Lake, Democratic pollster and strategist, she is president of Lake Research Partners and co-author of “What Women Really Want.”

Matthew Continetti, associate editor at The Weekly Standard, he edits and writes for the magazine’s campaign blog, the Campaign Standard.

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.

At 8:30 last night, Barack Obama, in San Antonio, called John McCain, in Dallas, to congratulate the man who last night clinched the GOP nomination, to say he looked forward to running against him. And maybe Obama will.

But up in Columbus, Ohio, one Hillary Clinton was preparing a speech of her own. Before the night was over, she had won primaries in Ohio and Texas and Rhode Island, and was telling cheering supporters she would battle on and win.

This hour, On Point: This isn’t over. Clinton has her day. McCain takes the GOP prize. And the Democrats go to the trenches.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Chuck Todd, political director for NBC News.

Gebe Martinez, political contributor and columnist for Politico.com.

Jonathan Kaufman, political editor for The Wall Street Journal.

Eleanor Clift, contributing editor for Newsweek.

Matt Continetti, associate editor at The Weekly Standard.

Twenty Democratic debates, and last night, the last debate before primaries next Tuesday that could decide the Democrats’ competition. Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama were gladiators once more in a test of ideas, and integrity, and attitude.

Clinton, fierce and focused, was a commanding presence fighting for the lead she has lost. Obama, cool and determined, was under fire and fighting back.

We heard about health care, NAFTA, Iraq, and Saturday Night Live.

This hour, On Point: the last debate on the Democrats’ short road to Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Mike McIntyre, columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, covering the Clinton-Obama debate.

Ruth Marcus, columnist for The Washington Post.

Allan Rivlin, partner at Peter Hart Research Associates, a public opinion polling firm which conducts the Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll.

Jaime Castillo, columnist and former political editor at The San Antonio Express-News.

A week from today, it could be over for Hillary Clinton. She may roar back in Texas and Ohio. But if she doesn’t, we may be watching the last week of the strongest bid in history by a woman for the White House.

And we’re pausing today to ask what role gender — and maybe sexism — has played in the story of Hillary Clinton’s historic run.

We’ll talk with Geraldine Ferraro, the Democrats’ VP nominee in 1984; Pat Schroeder, who geared up to run in ‘88; and with columnists Ellen Goodman and Katha Pollitt, about women, this woman, and the White House.

This hour, On Point: gender and the Clinton campaign.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Ellen Goodman, syndicated columnist for The Boston Globe.

Geraldine Ferraro, Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1984.

Pat Schroeder, former Democratic Congresswoman from Colorado, she considered a run for the White House in 1988.

Katha Pollitt, columnist for The Nation magazine.

And you thought the Clinton-Obama horse race was already hot — the candidates virtually tied for votes and delegates. Now the party is locked in a behind-the-scenes horse race for the votes of superdelegates.

Those are the 795 party elites — free agents — whose votes at the Democratic convention this summer will not necessarily be bound by the will of Democratic voters.

That’s right. Talk of backroom deals and a brokered convention is real. So is talk of a Democratic train wreck as the party heads into November.

This hour, On Point: the Democrats’ superdelegate dilemma.

-Jane Clayson

Guests:

Gary Hart, former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Senator from Colorado, now a professor at the University of Colorado and a supporter of Senator Barack Obama.

Elaine Kamarck, lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, former aide to President Bill Clinton, and a superdelegate supporting Senator Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Gwen Moore, Democratic congresswoman from Wisconsin and superdelegate supporting Barack Obama.

Matt Bai, writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of “The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics.”

Bill Clinton started out low-key in Hillary Clinton’s campaign — but no more. As Hillary and Barack Obama have gone to the mat in the heat of the primaries, the former President Clinton is all over this race — up to his elbows in the fight, throwing real punches.

Obama’s Iraq message? A “fairy tale.” A vote for Obama? “A roll of the dice.” Bill Clinton is suddenly everywhere, often red-faced and furious and wagging that big ex-presidential finger.

Should he be? For Hillary? For the race? For the country?

This hour, On Point: Bill Clinton, center-stage, in Hillary’s race.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Franklin Foer, editor of The New Republic.

Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation.

Lanny Davis, special counsel to President Bill Clinton from 1996 to 1998, author of “Scandal: How ‘Gotcha’ Politics Is Destroying America,” and a supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Donna Brazile, senior political strategist and campaign manager for the Gore-Lieberman 2000 campaign. She is chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Voting Rights Institute and a CNN commentator.

The polls still suggest that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee for president. She’s up by 23 points nationally, by 6 in Iowa, by 13 in New Hampshire, by 15 in South Carolina.

Yet, after a shaky performance — her first — in the last debate, pundits are pronouncing her vulnerable. Once seen as inevitable, she is now just one choice.

This hour, On Point: With 50 days to go before the Iowa caucus, on the eve of a showdown debate in Las Vegas, Democrats are asking: should Hillary Clinton be their nominee? Should she be the next president?

-Jack Beatty

Guests:

Patrick Healy, Political Reporter at The New York Times.

Jamal Simmons, Political Strategist, Media Consultant, and President of New Future Communications.

Eleanor Smeal, Co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and President of the Feminist Majority.

DeeDee Towery, President and CEO of ProActive Business Solutions and a Hillary Clinton supporter.

Hillary Clinton got run over by health care reform politics fourteen years ago. Trounced by drug companies and insurers, by Harry and Louise, by ordinary Americans afraid she would limit their health care choices.

Now, years have passed, nearly 50 million Americans are uninsured, millions more live in fear of losing coverage — and Hillary is back, with kinder, gentler reform that is, she says, all about choice.

Her rivals are howling. But the country is waiting for some kind of answer on health care.

This hour, On Point: Hillary Clinton’s second time around on health care reform.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Susannah Meadows, senior writer for Newsweek covering the Clinton campaign, her latest story is “How Hillary Won Over the Health-Care Industry.”

Dr. Atul Gawande, former senior health policy advisor on Clinton’s health care task force in 1993, he’s a surgeon and associate professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health and author of “Better: A Surgeon’s Notes On Performance.”

Stuart Altman, currently an advisor on health care policy for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, he’s dean and professor of national health policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford and senior advisor on health care for Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign.