Yes, Hillary Clinton is Obama’s first choice for Secretary of State (UPDATE: HILLARY ACCEPTS?)
… but in the continuing drama over this story, The Politico reports today that Team Obama have hit some snags on the vetting process of La Clinton’s hubster:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is President-elect Barack Obama’s first choice for secretary of State but his aides are becoming exasperated by the Clinton camp’s pokey response to demands for extensive information about former President Bill Clinton’s finances, according to numerous Democrats involved in the process.
“The sense among the no-drama Obama world is: This is well on its way to winning best Oscar for drama” said one well-connected Democratic official.
There are signs, however, that the Clintons may move decisively to satisfy the vetting requests in coming days, clearing the way for a “Team of Rivals” Cabinet that would bring the president-elect’s opponent for the Democratic nomination into his historic administration.
Democratic officials make it sound as if the job has been all but offered to Hillary Clinton. But the ball is in her court to show that the former president’s many foreign and financial entanglements would not pose huge conflicts of interest if she were the nation’s chief diplomat, the officials said.
Obama isn’t likely to formally offer the post to Clinton unless he’s given assurances that Bill Clinton’s global charitable foundation won’t create future conflicts of interest with foreign governments, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Clinton Global Initiative has earned widespread plaudits for its efforts to eradicate AIDS, malaria and poverty in Africa.
But it could prove problematic for Obama if the former president continues to arrange donations from foreign countries at the same time that his wife, as secretary of state, is asking them for diplomatic concessions. The Clinton Global Initiative, which has raised more than $30 billion since 2005, has matched several foreign governments with projects, including a $1 billion pledge from Norway in 2007.
For the inside scoop on how last week’s Obama/Hillary meeting was arranged, read this post from Marc Ambinder.
Update – 7:57 PM: The Guardian is reporting that Hillary Clinton “plans to accept the job of secretary of state …” Stay tuned.