President-elect Donald Trump hasn't asked us, and he won't, but we much prefer the choice of U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., to any of the other names being mentioned for the important post of secretary of state in a new presidential administration.
The selection of a pragmatic, non-reactionary man like Corker as the nation's top diplomat would go a long way to quell the fears some may have about the country's future dealings with other nations.
However, the former Chattanooga mayor said it's unlikely that he will be selected for the post, though he acknowledged his name is "in the mix."
Other names being mentioned are former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, former United Nations ambassador John Bolton and, recently, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Corker, who is well traveled as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is widely praised for his temperament and, unlike many of his colleagues, never dismissed the prospect of a Trump presidency.
Indeed, last winter in Chattanooga, he praised the New York businessman's background and has had kind words to say about several of his foreign policy speeches, comparing his words in several interviews to those of President George H.W. Bush and former Secretary of State James A. Baker.
We believe Guiliani, whose nomination as secretary of state will draw objections because of some of his non-public sector work with other nations, would be a better fit as director of homeland security or even attorney general.
The combative Bolton, as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security under President George W. Bush, was a backer of the Iraq war and is a virulent critic of President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran. Where Corker was a supporter of Trump's more reasoned campaign trail foreign policy pronouncements, Bolton praised the candidate's more hawkish rhetoric.
Haley, a reluctant Trump supporter in her second term as governor of the Palmetto State, was to have met with the president-elect about several potential cabinet posts.
The daughter of Indian immigrants would bring "a fresh set of eyes on foreign affairs," said South Carolina Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster. But College of Charleston professor Kendra Stewart suggested the job might "be a bit of a stretch for Haley's area of expertise."
Whatever Trump decides on the post, we hope he will continue to seek a diverse group of individuals for his cabinet who will offer him a variety of ideas and not be an echo chamber for his occasional off-the-top-of-his-head bombast.