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Team Obama Putting Bill Clinton Under Microscope
The Page by Mark Halperin —
... Monday NY Times: Obama's transition team is vetting the former president's "finances and activities" as they consider offering Hillary Clinton the secretary of state role.
Aides to both sides say Obama is likely to ask her to take the job.
“I can't believe they would have her schlep out there with all this publicity unless they were real about it.” ...
Clinton Appointment Seems Likely
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire —
Many Democrats close to both camps said that it seemed likely that President-elect Obama would ask Sen. Hillary Clinton to become his Secretary of State, "assuming they could work something out regarding Mr. Clinton's role," the New York Times ...
Morning Roundup: Around the Web on Lemon Street
The Latest on Air America —
If you ever wondered why investors are allergic to profligate spending coupled with managerial inertia, take a look at Robert J Samuelson's superb op-ed in today's Washington Post , who argues that a bankrupt GM (and dark times like we've never seen) may be the silver bullet for our ailing economy. Meanwhile the G20 vow to create some rules and stimulus and stuff so that things don't get worse when the bottom falls out. Bloomberg seems to be suggesting a down day may be the way of things on the Street today. Did you see Obama's first You Tube weekly address? The Guardian has a good take on the Obama-60 Minutes interview ...
Team Obama Putting Bill Clinton Under Microscope
The Page by Mark Halperin —
... NY Times: Obama's transition team is vetting the former president's "finances and activities" as they consider offering Hillary Clinton the secretary of state role.
Aides to both sides say Obama is likely to ask her to take the job: “I can't believe they would have her schlep out there with all this publicity unless they were real about it.” ...
The Early Word: Clinton(s) in Foggy Bottom?
The Caucus —
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton showed skill at making peace with a former enemy, stumping aggressively for President-elect Barack Obama after surrendering in a bitter primary war with him. And it appears increasingly possible she could be rewarded for those diplomatic skills with an appointment as secretary of state. Aides to both sides told The Times’s Peter Baker and Helene Cooper that “they considered it improbable that Mr. Obama would have opened the door to Mrs. Clinton’s appointment without having decided, at least in principle, that he would like to make it happen.” ...
Vetting The Clintons
A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days —
If this report is to be believed, the talk about making Hillary Clinton Secretary of State is quite serious indeed, as the work and finances of former President Clinton are being checked to ensure that there is nothing that would prevent Senator Clinton from taking over at Foggy Bottom. What isn't being vetted, however, is whether Senator Clinton would bring anything special or particular to the position of Secretary of State--beyond, of course, a famous name. No one is asking what Senator Clinton's strategic worldview is. No one is asking what she envisions her duties and responsibilities to be in the event that she is named America's top diplomat. No one is asking why ...
The Note: Obama, McCain Could be Valuable Allies
Political Radar —
... Questions worth pondering while you’re thinking about the prospect of a Palin-free week: 1. Who will play a bigger role in filling out President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet -- Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, or ...
War and Piece — A Done Deal? So this from the NYT suggests: One sign that many said pointed to Mrs. Clintons possible selection was the news that Gregory B. Craig would be White House counsel instead of national security adviser or deputy secretary of state, as some had expected. A law school friend of the Clintons who represented Mr. Clinton during impeachment, Mr. Craig backed Mr. Obama from the start of the campaign and was a scathing critic of Mrs. Clintons claims to foreign policy experience. Although some advisers saw no connection, others said putting him in a foreign policy job ...
Election Central Morning Roundup
TPM Election Central —
... The New York Times reports that the Obama team is carefully vetting not just Hillary Clinton, but also Bill Clinton, in order to determine whether his dealings with foreign businesses and governments could create an unavoidable conflict of interest: "Among the known Clinton Foundation donors are the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, the governments of Kuwait and Qatar, and a tycoon who was the son-in-law of Ukraine's ousted authoritarian president." ...
What to do with Bill
Ben Smith's Blog —
Here's a key passage from Peter Baker's story on Bill as the main obstacle to Hillary's appointment:
Many Democrats close to both camps said Sunday that it seemed likely that Mr. Obama would ask her to take the job, assuming they could work something out regarding Mr. Clinton’s role.
That is, this isn't so much vetting of either Clinton, as it is working out what to do with him in the future.
The key, as Thrush reports, is "future conflicts of interest with foreign governments."
