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AP: Kerry Seeking Appointment As Secretary Of State

Senator Refuses To Rule Out Giving Up Seat

POSTED: 3:25 pm EST November 5, 2008
UPDATED: 3:38 pm EST November 5, 2008

Sen. John Kerry is actively seeking appointment as secretary of state in the Obama administration, according to Democratic Party sources who spoke to The Associated Press.

Kerry has refused to rule out the possibility that he might give up his Senate seat for a position in the Obama administration.

After his re-election Tuesday night, he also broadened his definition of service to Massachusetts, suggesting he could provide it whether he was one of the state's U.S. senators or held some other post under President-elect Barack Obama.

"I have no job I'm looking for in the Cabinet at this point in time," Kerry told WCVB-TV just moments after he delivered his victory speech. "If the president talks to me, I'll listen to him and talk to him, but there's very little I would leave the U.S. Senate for."

Asked specifically about secretary of state, a position mentioned because of Kerry's interest in foreign affairs, the senator replied, "Well, I'd talk to the president if he called me and asked me about it. But I never heard anything. It's speculation."

He added: "What I've been clear about is that I'm going to fight for Massachusetts. Whatever I, you know, do, I will do with the interests of Massachusetts and our country in mind, but I will continue to serve as thoughtfully as I can."

Kerry triggered speculation about his interest in serving as secretary of state earlier this year, when he began defending Obama on foreign policy questions, both in interviews and op-ed pieces, and invited former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a meeting at his vacation home on Nantucket.

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