Hillary: a risky choice?

●WSJ
New Strategy Drives Obama Picks
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122813970689368773.html
CHICAGO -- President-elect Barack Obama, unveiling his national-security team, said he will use the "power of our moral example" in making a clean break from Bush administration policies on Iraq, Afghanistan and overseas diplomacy.
Mr. Obama gave a prominent place during the presentation to his nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Clinton. She stood next to Mr. Obama, was the first of the nominees to speak and received the lengthiest introduction from the president-elect.

●Wasington Post
Success of Clinton Choice Hinges on Rapport
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120103054.html?nav%3Dhcmodule&sub=new
Leaving the news conference in Chicago yesterday where he introduced his national security team, President-elect Barack Obama strolled out of the room arm in arm with his choice for secretary of state and onetime rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The gesture may have been a subtle indication that Obama is aware that one of the biggest questions about his choice of Clinton is the kind of relationship they will be able to forge in the months ahead.

●NY Times
Appointments Begin a New Phase for Obama
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/us/politics/02obama.html?_r=1&ref=us
CHICAGO ― President-elect Barack Obama put the rancor and even some of the rhetoric of the presidential campaign behind him on Monday as he welcomed his chief Democratic adversary into his cabinet and signaled flexibility in his plans to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Introducing a national security team anchored by Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, Mr. Obama said a new strategic agreement with Baghdad put the United States “on a glide path to reduce our forces in Iraq.” But while he reaffirmed his desire to pull out combat brigades within 16 months, Mr. Obama emphasized his willingness to consider options put forth by the military.

●FT
Clinton nomination wins politicians’ praise
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/daa0a782-bff7-11dd-9222-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1
Few US secretaries of state have come into office with the global renown that Hillary Clinton enjoys. The new chief diplomat-in-waiting is recognised across the world, her surname a brand that has grown in international popularity as discontent has mounted with the administration of George W. Bush.
But her precise record in her new area of responsibility has been a matter of dispute – not least among the cohorts of Barack Obama, the president-elect, who nominated Mrs Clinton to her new job on Monday.

●The Times
Barack Obama's team of rivals will be responsible for keeping promise of change
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5269690.ece
Barack Obama insisted that “the buck will stop with me” when he dismissed doubts yesterday over how a heavy-weight “team of rivals” that includes Hillary Clinton and a Republican Defence Secretary can work in harmony.
Presenting half a dozen nominees for senior national security posts, the President-elect said that the “strong personalities and strong opinions” that he had brought together would ensure vigorous debate, even disagreement, in the White House.
“But understand – I will be setting policy as President,” he added. “I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made.”

●The Guardian
Tomasky talk: Hillary is a risky choice
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/01/hillary-clinton-barack-obama