Now that Susan Rice has withdrawal her name as a choice for Secretary of State, the attention will shift to John Kerry, the next prospect for the position. Kerry is the current chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate and has been thought of as one of the leading contenders for the position.

Hillary Clinton, the current Secretary of State, will retire as soon as President Obama has found someone to replace her to revamp the State Department heading into the start of his second term.

Obama also must fill the vacant CIA director’s chair, as David Petraeus did not survive his sex scandal and rumors have started that Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense might retire sooner than previously thought. Chuck Hagel, a former Senator is thought to be the number one candidate to fill the next opening at the Pentagon.

On Thursday, Rice announced she had withdrawn her name for the position. Republicans in the Senate had criticized Rice because of comments she made following the attack on the consulate of the U.S. in Libya on September 11. That set up a possible tough confirmation hearing in the Senate that Rice made mention of in her letter to Obama announcing her withdrawal.

Her stepping aside seems to open the position for Kerry. Team Obama has not spoken too much about personnel openings for the second term, so there might be a candidate who will turn out to be a mystery, who has received less attention than others have. One that comes to the mind of some is Tom Donilon the current National Security Advisor.