Posted: Friday, November 21, 2008 9:22 AM by Domenico Montanaro
*** So is It done? Call us skeptical, but why is it
hard to believe that the news that Obama and Clinton have worked everything out and the appointment will take place just after Thanksgiving is something that will hold? There's going to be more pauses and skeptical stories about this happening between now and whenever the State announcement happens. It's the only way, right? Just consider this passage in today’s
New York Times: “One friend said Mrs. Clinton decided late Wednesday to say no, reasoning that she would have more freedom in the Senate. By midday Thursday, the friend said, she was ‘back in the indecisive column again.’ By the end of the day, another associate said she could accept by Friday.”
*** Leak soup: Speaking of the Clinton-Obama drama, everyone is now noting all the transition leaks and how frustrating they must be for the usually disciplined Obama folks. Today’s
Washington Post has a good piece on why they’re happening -- and where they’re coming from. “‘There is nothing they can do about it -- vetting and FBI background checks require a lot of calls, and that leads to leaks,’ explained Steve Elmendorf, a longtime aide to former House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) and now a lobbyist in Washington. And unlike in a campaign, there is now simply more information to disseminate and more outlets chasing the ever-elusive scoop. ‘It's the era of the Internet; what do you expect?’ joked a former Clinton White House senior adviser who is not involved in the transition process.”
moreRumors Disrupt Plan For Announcing Cabinet Nominees Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 21, 2008; Page A01
Barack Obama was famously able to impose discipline and control over his presidential campaign, but it didn't take long for him to discover that running a transition is something quite different.
Top aides to the president-elect had hoped to take a methodical approach to selecting and unveiling their new team, starting with the announcements of top national security and economic players shortly after Thanksgiving. But leaks and rumors have disrupted that plan, suggesting that the "no-drama Obama" mantra famously repeated by his staff may not be as operational in Washington as it was at campaign headquarters in Chicago.
Obama has not officially announced any Cabinet appointments, but transition officials have reluctantly confirmed that former senator Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) will be nominated as secretary of health and human services, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is the top choice for the Department of Homeland Security, and Eric H. Holder Jr. is likely to be the attorney general pick.
Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) is on track to be nominated for the job of secretary of state after Thanksgiving, transition aides said. And late last night, Obama aides were confronted with unconfirmed talk that retired Gen. James L. Jones could be tapped for national security adviser.
In the case of Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker, leaks that she would probably be tapped for a Cabinet job proved premature. An architect of Obama's record-shattering campaign fundraising operation, Pritzker emerged as the leading choice to run the Commerce Department. Sources close to the Hyatt hotel heiress said she was seriously interested, and Obama allies said the president-elect, who considers Pritzker a close friend and a stellar manager, was eager to make an offer.
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