John Kerry Mum On Secretary of State Rumors

Ready to report for duty

 Sen. John Kerry is angling to be the nation's top diplomat by being, well, diplomatic.

The longtime Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts has largely stayed quiet while President Obama considers him for the next secretary of state. Kerry has asked his supporters to avoid overt lobbying of the White House on his behalf. And he's defended his chief rival for the post, Susan Rice, amid Republican criticism of her initial explanation of the attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya.