After her bitter election battle with Obama, this could heal party rift
If Mrs Clinton becomes secretary of state, it could mean a more hawkish foreign policy for the US than that advocated by Mr Obama during the campaign. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
CHICAGO: Senator Hillary Clinton has emerged as a candidate to be United States secretary of state in President-elect Barack Obama's administration, just months after he defeated her in an intense contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mrs Clinton's name is the latest among those of prominent figures being considered for key positions in Mr Obama's Cabinet, although the final list will not be revealed before Jan 20.
WHILE Mrs Hillary Clinton's name is being mentioned for the Secretary of State post and talk is gaining momentum that Defence Secretary Robert Gates will continue in his position, President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is examining other names. Here is a look at some of them.
Putting Mrs Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, in the position could help heal lingering divisions in the Democratic Party after her bitter battle with Mr Obama, observers say.
Mr Obama had passed over Mrs Clinton as his vice-presidential running mate in favour of Senator Joe Biden, a decision that angered her ardent supporters and widened a rift in the party that Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton later worked to heal.
Her selection as top US diplomat could also mean a more hawkish foreign policy than that advocated by Mr Obama during his campaign. On the campaign trail, Mrs Clinton was more reluctant than Mr Obama to commit to a firm timetable for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.
But both Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton were adamant about improving the image of the US abroad and correcting what they considered the 'failed policies' of the outgoing Bush administration.
Mrs Clinton was described by her office as having flown to Chicago on Thursday on personal business.
Neither her aides nor aides to President-elect Obama would say whether she was interviewed for the job by Mr Obama, who spent a great part of the day behind closed doors in transition meetings at his Chicago office.
'Any speculation about Cabinet or other administration appointments is really for President-elect Obama's transition team to address,' said Mrs Clinton's senior adviser, Mr Philippe Reines.
NBC News and The Washington Post have reported that Mrs Clinton was being considered for the top diplomatic post.
The discussion over her appointment also suggests that Mr Obama was expanding his search beyond other candidates mentioned for the job, such as Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, a Democrat who lost the 2004 presidential election, and Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican who backed Mr Obama over Republican presidential contender John McCain this year.
Those who raised millions of dollars for Mr Obama, meanwhile, are beginning to land significant posts on President-elect Obama's transition team.
At least nine of the volunteer fund-raisers whose wide networks of friends and relatives gave more than US$1.85 million (S$2.8 million) to Mr Obama are now positioned to help the President-elect set foreign and domestic policies and identify potential Cabinet appointees.
Among them is Chicago real estate executive and close friend Valerie Jarrett, now a transition co-chairman. She raised more than US$100,000.
Ms Penny Pritzker, a billionaire heiress to the Hyatt hotel fortune, is a top economic adviser. She chaired Mr Obama's finance effort and raised more than US$200,000 herself.
But the involvement of so many bundlers has irritated public interest advocates who worry that Mr Obama is building his transition team based on fund-raising skills, not qualifications.
Mr Obama's top aides refute this. A case in point, they say, is Mr Don Gips, a consultant who raised more than $500,000 for Mr Obama's bid. Mr Gips is one of 12 senior advisers to the transition project and is a co-chairman of the group conducting government agency reviews.
What landed him that post, Obama advisers said, are his credentials. He was chief domestic policy adviser to former vice-president Al Gore and handled World Trade Organisation negotiations.
The leading bundlers won special access to top campaign strategists during the elections. How many will ultimately wind up in the administration is unknown, but several top Obama fund-raisers interviewed have said they anticipate many will seek appointments.
Two fund-raisers, speaking on condition that they remained anonymous, said they had received requests from donors for advice on finding administration jobs.
