A key consideration in appointments must also be whether they are sackable if things go wrong or if unpopular decisions have to be made. If Obama finds himself stuck with an unpopular SoS whom he also can't sack because of the political fall-out to his own Presidency, then you have a lose-lose situation.
I would have been more comfortable with her as VP than as SoS, because a VP doesn't have to DO anything. Cabinet members have to be sackable to prevent the Presidency being damaged when things go wrong - and not "too big to be sacked".
I appreciate her stature would also provide Obama with political cover if unpopular or tricky decisions have to be made, but that presupposes that she would be prepared to make those decisions (however damaging to any further Presidential ambitions she might have).
Bill might be a complicating factor, but the real issue is Hillary. Who will she be working for? Obama or herself and her own Presidential ambitions? notes from no w here
That being said, you raise an excellent point. The popular foreign policy debate in America runs something like this: either you're ready to send troops anywhere at any time to kick ass on anyone or you're less than the perfect patriot, and unfit for the presidency.
What if, given that debate, as a future White House contender she offered nothing as SecState that might jeopardize her future chances? She'd serve the country - and the world - poorly indeed.
If she's hypothetically considering a future white house run, she should decline. It is almost certain that there will be situations ahead as SecState where she'll have to make the choice: serve well, or harbor your ambitions? "It Can't Be Just About Us"--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire
On the whole, I think she could eventually be a good, even great SecState, based just on her qualities of character. She does have some baggage coming out of the starting gates, though nothing that cannot be overcome.
As a matter of personal style, her stridency makes her the wrong face to put on US public diplomacy. That's absolutely the wrong way the US needs to go on public diplomacy in the near future. "It Can't Be Just About Us"--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire
