The early reactions to President-elect Joe Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is that it's a purposefully "boring" choice, which analysts don't necessarily consider a bad thing.
Writes Axios, the predictable choice is representative of Biden's emphasis on "stability" and his "penchant for sticking with comfort foods when it comes to people, policies, and political techniques." Blinken, after all, is a longtime Biden aide dating back to his Senate days who served as his national security adviser during his vice presidential days.
While one source told Axios that Biden is approaching his Cabinet selection "like an experienced mechanic intent on repairing something that's badly broken," Foreign Policy suggests Blinken is not only a departure from Trump's choices for the role, but also former President Barack Obama's. Blinken is well-respected in Washington, but keeps a low profile, in contrast to the globally-recognized figures who served under Obama — Hillary Clinton and John Kerry — "who may have had their own power bases."
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