On track, but who's driving the train?

by Janet Crain
Personally I believe Obama wants his "team of rivals" near so he can watch them and hopefully control them. By appointing Hillary as Secretary of State, he has effectively eliminated any serious Democratic competition for his 2012 candidacy for re-election.

Obama plans to name Clinton to state

By MIKE ALLEN | 11/20/08 10:48 PM EST

President-elect Barack Obama is "on track" to name Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as his secretary of state shortly after Thanksgiving, two senior Obama aides said.

Financial disclosure issues have been worked out, aides said.

The officials said they expect her to accept. Clinton aides had no comment.

The choice unites the two rivals in the most protracted presidential primary in American history, giving Obama the Team of Rivals Cabinet he had promised.

Former President Bill Clinton authorized unprecedented disclosures about his finances to Obama's vetting team, and transition lawyers are satisfied, officials said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15843.html

NYT columnist Maureen Dowd: "What worries me, though, is that much of the media attention today is focused on the wrong relationship question. Everyone is asking how she would manage the relationship with former President Bill Clinton and his own global speaking, fund-raising and philanthropic agendas. You have to believe that they’ll do everything they can to try to figure that out — but it’s not a done deal yet. Obviously, Mr. Clinton would have to restrict some of his activities. The important question, the answer of which is not at all clear to me, is about the only relationship that matters for a secretary of state — the kind of relationship he or she would have with the new president. My question: Is Obama considering Mrs. Clinton for this job in order to get her off his back or as a prelude to protecting her back?

NYT's Thomas Friedman: "Bill has the satisfaction of seeing that he has roiled the previously serene and joyous Obamaland. It may be Obama’s very willingness to take the albatross of Bill from around Hillary’s neck and sling it around his own that impresses Bill. Obama is overlooking all his cherished dictums against drama and leaking and his lofty vetting standards to try and create a situation where the country can benefit from the talent of the Clintons while curbing their cheesy excesses, like their endless cash flow from foreigners. And in turn, Bill is doing all he can — he’s disclosing sketchy donors and business interests and figuring out how he could curb his global gallivanting to have fewer conflicts of interest — to help his wife get the job.It says it all that, at the moment Washington became obsessed with news that Hillary was a contender for State, Bill was getting a half-million for an hour’s worth of chat sponsored by the National Bank of Kuwait, delivered from behind a podium with a camel and Arabic lettering on it. Last year, Bill made $10.1 million in speaking fees."

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