President Obama will nominate Sen. John Kerry to be the next secretary of state at the White House later today, the Washington Post reports.
Kerry selection “all but guarantees a swift, smooth path to confirmation. The lawmaker has been a frequent foreign policy adviser and confidant to Obama, and his long experience means he has bipartisan advocates in the Senate.”
A new CNN/ORC poll finds that most Americans think Kerry’s appointment would be good for the nation, with 57% saying they hold that view and 32% saying it would be bad. But there is also a partisan gap, as 80% of Democrats and 54% of independents say the Kerry pick would be good but 56% of Republicans say it would be bad.
Meanwhile, the New York Times notes that if he is confirmed, Kerry will become the first losing general election candidate to ascend a major new political position since Richard Nixon in 1968.

