They may not be best friends, but Linda Tripp and Hillary Clinton definitely know one another. And Tripp definitely has a lot to say about the possibility that Hillary will be our next secretary of state — and none of it’s very supportive. Here, in a wowOwow exclusive, Linda Tripp tells contributor Sue Carswell why she thinks the former First Lady shouldn’t quit her day job and stay away from becoming secretary of state.

Hillary’s practiced performances never cease to amaze me, and performances they truly are.

I’ve always said that if an Oscar existed for “best performance in a leading role in a political arena,” Hillary would win hands down. One should not underestimate the true dichotomy here. Her ability to be convincingly dishonest in an accomplished and polished manner garnered her 18 million gullible votes. The girl is good.

But. I sat in an office in the West Wing directly next to Hillary’s for over a year while serving as executive assistant to the counsel to the president under Bill Clinton. So as to her appointment to the Cabinet, make no mistake; she will be on no one’s team. It is always about her own political agenda. Team Hillary is the only team that exists for both Hillary and her faithful staff minions as well. People comment on the Clintons’ 33-year-long marriage and their unmatched loyalty to one another. From a firsthand viewpoint, I know that their loyalty is first, last and always to their shared and quite unparalleled ambition. From firsthand observation, public opportunism vice public service is the hallmark of the Clinton “marriage” and it is evidently working.

I remember with crystal clarity the stunning mantra back in the West Wing of the Clinton White House in early 1993, shortly after the first Clinton inauguration. “Eight years for Bill, eight years for Hill!” The sense of entitlement was pervasive. It’s a safe bet that from her perspective, a pretender will occupy the coveted chair she so desperately sought and in fact believed she deserved, so watch for Madam Secretary to vigorously orchestrate not just in the diplomacy arena, but also in the game of Musical Chairs.

I doubt deals are cut these days in dark, smoky back rooms, but each candidate has “people.” I’m sure her people and his people cut a deal shortly after he wrested the nomination from her – it probably went something like this: “You want her 18 million cracks, she gets no less than secretary of state, period.”

In any case, I have a sense that President-elect Obama is not unaware of the Clinton idiosyncrasies so I am hopeful that he and his National Security team will keep a close watch on his new secretary of state as she reigns over her very own, albeit smaller for now fiefdom. I might offer a cautionary word of advice to the Protocol staff at the State Department, and that is that it might simply be a grand idea to lock up the antique silver before the Inauguration.