Bill Clinton's Foreign Affairs Could Cost Hillary Cabinet Post

Could former President Bill Clinton's charitable affairs cost Hillary Clinton the secretary of state job in Barack Obama's administration?

That's what insiders are wondering after reports that the former president's financial and foreign entanglements could hurt the New York senator in her bid for a Cabinet post.

Politico.com reported Monday that Democrats "are becoming exasperated" by Bill Clinton's response to requests for information about his finances.

"The sense among the no-drama Obama world is: This is well on its way to winning best Oscar for drama," an unnamed Democrat told Politico.com.

Of worry, Politico.com said, is whether Clinton's charity would create a conflict of interest with foreign governments. The New York Times reported Sunday that lawyers from the Obama camp were looking into the former president's dealings with foreign governments and pharmaceutical companies.

"I think certainly she's been vetted, he's been vetted; but let's remember it's her who's up for this appointment, not Bill Clinton," Brad Blakeman, a former deputy assistant to President George W. Bush, told FOX News. "I think they cleaned a lot up before she decided to run for president.

"Certainly his activities going forward, if she is the secretary of state, would be curtailed, but I can't see any reason why Hillary Clinton would not be nominated by this president and certainly confirmed by a Democratic Senate," Blakeman said.

Bill Clinton, addressing a symposium at the National Bank of Kuwait on Sunday, spoke about the possibility of having his wife in the new administration.

"If [Obama] decided to ask her and they did it together, I think she'll be really great as a secretary of state," Clinton said, according to an Agence France-Presse report.

"She worked very hard for his election after the primary fight with him, and so did I, and we were very glad that he won and we have a lot of confidence that he can do a good job," Clinton said. "But she didn't do what she did with the hope or expectation of getting any kind of job offer, much less having this discussed."

Clinton said he didn't know if his wife was offered the post.

News of a possible Secretary of State Clinton drew praise from both sides of the aisle. Former White House Special Counsel Lanny Davis told FOXNews.com that "she is strong and firm in her convictions and a great team player -- but she is also a great listener.

"Most important, she has the rare ability to walk in other people's shoes and see the world through their eyes," Davis wrote Sunday on the FOX Forum. "That, to me, is an important quality in a secretary of state after eight years of this administration."

Both Hillary Clinton, Obama's fiercest rival for the presidential nomination, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who also ran for the White House this year, were interviewed by Obama in Chicago last week for the post, according to Democratic officials.

Click here to read Lanny Davis' post.

Click here to read more at Politico.com.

Click here to read more on the AFP story.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.