Obama names Clinton to top role in his team

[estranged4life]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27983003/?GT1=43001

Defense Secretary Gates to stay on; Holder, Napolitano, Jones, Rice tapped
The Associated Press

President-elect Barack Obama is filling his Cabinet at record speed, choosing loyal friends and one-time foes to guide his wartime foreign policy decisions.

Obama on Monday announced Democratic primary rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as his secretary of state and said that President George W. Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates, is staying on.

Obama also named Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary. He also announced two senior foreign policy positions outside the Cabinet: campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador and retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones as national security adviser.

The announcements rounded out the top tier of the team that will advise the incoming chief executive on foreign and national security issues in an era marked by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and terrorism around the globe.

"In this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning — a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges," Obama said.

Obama also has settled on former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle to be his secretary of Health and Human Services and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be Commerce secretary. Last week, he named key members of his economic team, including Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as Treasury secretary.

The decisions mean Obama has half of the 15-member Cabinet assembled less than a month after the election, including the most prominent positions at State, Justice, Treasury and Defense. With the world grappling with war, recession and terrorist threats that erupted this week during coordinated attacks in India, Obama was moving swiftly to try to bring reassurance and continuity in the federal government when he takes over in less than two months.

Concessions by former President Clinton
Clinton's nomination is the latest chapter in what began as a bitter rivalry for the Democratic presidential nomination.

To make it possible for his wife to become secretary of state, party officials said, former President Bill Clinton agreed to:

Disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997 and all contributors going forward.
Refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference.
Cease holding CGI meetings overseas.
Volunteer to step away from day-to-day management of the foundation while his wife is secretary of state.
Submit his speaking schedule to review by the State Department and White House counsel.
Submit any new sources of income to a similar ethical review.
Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he plans to vote to confirm Clinton.

The former president long had refused to disclose the identities of contributors to his foundation, saying many gave money on condition that they not be identified.

Putting together a 'team of rivals'
Lugar said there would still be "legitimate questions" raised about the former president's extensive international involvement. "I don't know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite measures up to this who has such cosmic ties, but ... hopefully, this team of rivals will work," Lugar said.

Obama's choice of Hillary Clinton was an extraordinary gesture of good will after a year in which the two rivals competed for the Democratic nomination in a long, bitter primary battle.

They clashed repeatedly on foreign affairs. Obama criticized Clinton for her vote to authorize the Iraq war. Clinton said Obama lacked the experience to be president and she chided him for saying he would meet with leaders of nations such as Iran and Cuba without conditions.

The bitterness began melting away in June after Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. She went on to campaign for him in his general election contest against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Advisers said Obama had for several months envisioned Clinton as his top diplomat, and he invited her to Chicago to discuss the job just a week after the Nov. 4 election. The two met privately Nov. 13 in Obama's transition office in downtown Chicago.

Clinton was said to be interested and then to waver, concerned about relinquishing her Senate seat and the political independence it conferred. Those concerns were largely resolved after Obama assured her she would be able to choose a staff and have direct access to him, advisers said.

No leadership prospects in Senate
Remaining in the Senate also may not have been an attractive choice for Clinton. Despite her political celebrity, she is a relatively junior senator without prospects for a leadership position or committee chairmanship anytime soon.


Some Democrats and government insiders have questioned whether Clinton is too independent and politically ambitious to serve Obama as secretary of state. But a senior Obama adviser has said the president-elect had been enthusiastic about naming Clinton to the position from the start, believing she would bring instant stature and credibility to U.S. diplomatic relations and the advantages to her serving far outweigh potential downsides.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Clintons will have to tread carefully to avoid the appearance of conflicts.

"The presumption will be that both Secretary of State Clinton and former President Clinton will be very judicious in what they take on, because there's a new dimension here," Reed said.

Reed spoke on ABC's "This Week."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[GoS]

Well, I was wrong. I didn't think they'd both do it, I thought that one of them would say no. Why Clinton? There were better choices, I think.

[DavidMn]

I'm certainly encouraged in the sense that Mr Obama seems to be able to check his ego at the door in naming Mrs Clinton Sec of State.

[Phoenix]

Janet Napolitano Is great. Very respectable.
(Take it from a resident of Arizona. )

[StandbackStevie]

great choices i think obama I am very confident in his choices for his cabinet Obama will take this country in the right direction with the right people.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

Janet Napolitano Is great. Very respectable.
(Take it from a resident of Arizona. )

Yes, and she has no life so she's perfect for the job!

http://http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2008/12/gov_ed_rendell_on_janet_no_lif.php

[jannieC]

Originally Posted by GoS

Well, I was wrong. I didn't think they'd both do it, I thought that one of them would say no. Why Clinton? There were better choices, I think.

I think Obama is trying to show his committment to solidarity and to overcoming any personal stuff for the betterment on the country.

[Ghost_Tracker]

For some weird reason I hadn't realized this until yesterday, but I guess it's obvious now why Obama "passed over" Hilary when he was choosing who the candidate for V.P. would be. It wasn't a snub; I bet he already had her in mind for Sec. State.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by Ghost_Tracker

For some weird reason I hadn't realized this until yesterday, but I guess it's obvious now why Obama "passed over" Hilary when he was choosing who the candidate for V.P. would be. It wasn't a snub; I bet he already had her in mind for Sec. State.

Yes, it was mentioned several months ago (along with a rumoured supreme court appointment.) I think it's a good possibility that this was the plan.