Despite a general consensus that he was passed over for secretary of state, U.S. Sen. John Kerry appears ready to take full advantage of chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and will likely have a significant voice in shaping foreign policy under President-elect Barack Obama, Roll Call reported Tuesday.

"He's been preparing for it for a long time and will have a lot of influence," Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic strategist who was Kerry's deputy campaign manager during his 2004 presidential run, told Roll Call. "I think he's going to be one of the key, if not the key person in the Senate [whom the Obama administration] will go to as they figure out their foreign policy agenda."

Kerry is set to become chairman of the Foreign Relations committee because Vice President-elect Joe Biden is vacating the seat and the next Democrat in line by seniority is Chris Dodd, who has opted to remain chairman of the Banking Committee. A senator cannot chair two committees.

Roll Call cites several anonymous Democratic operatives who debate how much Kerry was angling for secretary of state.

"I know for a fact that he was pushing hard for the secretary of state position," said one. "I don't know how he feels about taking over Foreign Relations. I have to assume it's a letdown because it's not the same as when you have a president of the other party in the White House."

Another, however, said Kerry isn't letting U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton nomination to be secretary of state bother him and is looking forward to playing an influential role in foreign policy under the Obama administration.

"I guarantee you that John Kerry is not going to be keen on just being a mouthpiece for the administration," the operative said.

Another strategist noted that the Obama campaign valued Kerry's work as a surrogate over the course of the campaign and will likely seek his opinion on setting policy.

"I think the Obama administration will hold him in high esteem," the strategist said.