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WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for the former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who fought hard for the presidency.

Up until Barack Obama’s victory, much of America – and the rest of the world – was deeply in love with the idea of being in love. The problem with any such relationship is always that, one day, the spell wears off, and you start getting annoyed at little things like your soulmate (in this case, Barack Obama – America’s soulmate) leaving the toilet seat up. Some media people won’t care – they’ll blame George W. Bush for having used the same bathroom months earlier. Others, like the mainstream media, will fall into Obama’s toilet and splash around like it’s...

Little did we know that “Change we can believe in” really meant “Change that will delight the Right and freak out the Left.” But if the rumors and hints about President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet picks are any clue, it may be that both conservatives and liberals had Barack Obama pegged wrong. If several months ago someone had said that the Obama administration would be chocked full of Clinton administration retreads and have a national security team featuring the woman who advocated bombing Iran to smithereens in the event it launched a nuclear attack on Israel, few would have believed it....

DailyKos and DemocraticUndergroud types are starting to get a bit miffed at their messiah. So far, no one from their ranks has been given the nod to take a spot on Obama's staff or to fill his cabinet openings. The "progressives" are noticing, too, that far from bringing a "new" wave of politics to Washington, so far Obama is bringing back the age of Clinton. Instead of Washington becoming Obamopolis, it is a re-birthed Clintonville that is rising like a phoenix from the ashes. It is certainly too early to claim that Barack Obama is going to be a...

The offer to Daschle of the H&HS cabinet post began with Daschle's endorsement in February 2007. It is also consistent with Obama's short-lived PAC which states that, "That is why Senator Obama formed Hopefund ... to elect Democrats."

President-elect Barack Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder, a Washington lawyer who served as the No. 2 official in the Clinton Justice Department, as his next attorney general.

CAPITAL JOURNAL NOVEMBER 18, 2008 GOP Choices for an Obama Cabinet By GERALD F. SEIB Bipartisanship is like a hole-in-one in golf, often discussed yet rarely achieved. For President-elect Barack Obama, who has promoted the idea more than most, the quest to find some bipartisanship is only beginning. It started with a meeting he held Monday with his vanquished Republican rival, Sen. John McCain.

POSTED BY ED MORRISSEY Barack Obama has selected Gregory Craig as White House counsel, a move that will recall some controversial legal cases over the last few years. Craig has plenty of experience in politics as well as the courtroom, having served as Bill Clinton’s legal counsel during the impeachment hearings. Craig flipped from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama early in the primaries, and Obama has repaid his support — but Craig’s caseload will raise a few eyebrows: Gregory B. Craig, a well-known Washington lawyer who quarterbacked President Bill Clinton’s impeachment defense, has been chosen White House counsel by President-elect...

By CHRIS FRATES on Politico.com One of the leading members of President-elect Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services transition team was an anti-tobacco lobbyist as recently as September, a position that would appear to break a transition team rule that prevents lobbyists from serving in policy areas they have worked to influence within the past year. But in an example of how the tough-sounding rules can provide Obama plenty of wiggle room, the campaign explained how the lobbyist’s work didn’t violate the restrictions. Bill Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, unsuccessfully pushed Congress to give the Food...

Last week I reported that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was in the running to become Obama's secretary of state. Today we learned that the President-elect and his former rival met privately yesterday to discuss the position. This afternoon I asked California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger what he thought of a possible Secretary Clinton. "I think she is a very very bright woman and very experienced. I think this could be a great move." But he also said that it's equally important for the president to have a good working relationship with all the members of his cabinet. "When it comes to...

Here is video of a discussion historian Doris Kearns Goodwin had with NBC's David Gregory about what may be President-elect Barack Obama's model for assembling a Cabinet. Goodwin wrote a book called "Team of Rivals," which details how President Abraham Lincoln brought some of his fiercest rivals and opponents into his Cabinet to govern with him. Obama has actually cited Goodwin's book, and Lincoln's example. The talk of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and Obama's meeting scheduled for Monday with Sen.John McCain is fueling speculation that he may be trying to assemble such a governing team. . . ....

President-Elect Tries To Weed Out Controversial Candidates Applicants for President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet get ready to chronicle your life story. Those interested in joining Obama's administration have to pass an extensive background test. The questionnaire, the New York Times reported, includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants’ spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps, the Times said. Obama wants applicants to “list all aliases or ‘handles’ you have used to communicate on the...

Here is video of soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel talking with CBS News' Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation yesterday. Emanuel discusses the coming cabinet appointments President-elect Obama will make, and what is likely to be the emphasis of the new Obama Administration in the first days after the inauguration. . . . (Watch Video)

Sure, their post-mortem nice-nice might be reflecting a collective silence -- or, given pre-electoral events, a convenient epidemic of amnesia -- over the ascent of the first Catholic VP... but thirty-six hours in, the bench's "nightmare" lurches onward. In its latest development, another altar-railed Democrat has emerged in contention for a key Cabinet slot: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius... who's already doing the DC side-step.And that's just the half of it. Setting the stage for the US hierarchy's first "Armageddon" with the Obama administration, transition sources have floated two pro-choice Catholics -- Sebelius and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle...

Or not.. But who’s paying attention anyway? At some point in the near future “The Messiah” will get around to that change the obama-drones have been yearning for. Whatever that fundamental change is.. We dont know. It’s not socialism. No, it can’t be that. It’s that change we can all believe in. Personally, I never thought the day would come when it would be speculated that a Kennedy (or two) would be nominated to Obama’s cabinet. So innovative Barack. Ground breaking. Then there’s his prospective Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “Clinton’s going-away gift to Emanuel was a seat on the...

President-elect Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for top administration posts, according to Democratic officials.

New Obama Chief of Staff, Others on Board, Missed "Red Flags" of Alleged Fraud Scheme ___ President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com. According to a complaint later filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac, known formally as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between...

Here is video of a CBS News report on who Barack Obama may name to the key Cabinet Positions in his administration, including Treasury, State, Defense, and Attorney General. Obama is reportedly considering some Republicans for posts, such as Richard Lugar at State and Robert Gates at Defense. . . . . (Watch Video)

President-elect Barack Obama is strongly considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a Cabinet post, Democratic officials told Politico. Obama’s transition planners are weighing several other celebrity-level political stars for Cabinet posts, including retired general Colin L. Powell for secretary of Defense or Education, the officials said. RFK Jr.’s cousin, Caroline Kennedy, who helped Obama lead his vice-presidential search, is being considered for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, although some Obama officials doubt she would take it. Obama is indebted to the Kennedy family for a hearty endorsement at a crucial point in the Democratic...

The list is heavy on campaign heavyweights and Washington insiders, many of them from the administration of President Bill Clinton. So while surprises can be expected to crop up — especially on any Republican members of the Cabinet — many of the selections would likely be proven hands who would provoke little controversy. White House chief of staff: Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.); Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.); or dark horse candidate Bill Daley, commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton and now an executive with JPMorgan Chase & Co. Deputy chief of staff: Pete Rouse, chief of staff in Obama's Senate...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has said lobbyists won't run his White House. But senior campaign officials are crafting a policy that would clear the way for lobbyists to nonetheless hold important government roles. People familiar with Sen. Obama's still-evolving hiring policy say registered lobbyists would be banned from senior-level White House jobs. But the policy would allow some lobbyists to take important jobs elsewhere in the administration, should the Illinois senator win election Tuesday. "Our goal is to make sure that people don't leave an industry to come into our administration and then work on issues related to...

If the elite media and their skewed polls are to be believed, Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States. If that is the case, let us imagine for a moment what an Obama administration might look like if this radical leftist actually were to follow his heart and appoint people to his cabinet who share his view of the world. Here, then, are some highlights of some key members of Barack Obama's possible dream cabinet (in alphabetical order). Secretary of Agriculture -- U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin would be the logical choice here. Harkin, a far-left Iowa...

The war hero senator who rescued America from accepting humiliating defeat in Iraq -- by having the courage to put his country ahead of his own presidential prospects -- is now himself in need of a rescue. Is it too late for McCain? No. The man who more than anyone else forced the highly successful surge strategy in Iraq just might be able to pull victory from the jaws of defeat once again by adopting a bold surge strategy for his own campaign.

She swilled vodka and visited strip joints to break the glass ceiling, but can businesswoman Carly Fiorina tough it out in politics, asks Nick Mathiason. Poised, smart and ready to serve, Carly Fiorina - at one time the most powerful female executive on the planet - scents power. There's still a chance that the most intense, volatile and bitter presidential election campaign in living memory could spring a stunning final twist, delivering the Republicans to victory. If John McCain triumphs, Fiorina will follow in his slipstream. As a close friend and economic adviser to the Republican candidate, it is a...

I guess it is too early to speculate about McCain's cabinet, but here's a possibility for Secretary of Energy: Michael Williams on Energy security (youtube from Convention)(click on picture for biography)

** EXCERPT ** This is one promise that Senator John McCain might struggle to keep if he does win in November. When asked by Time's Rick Stengel, moderating the 9/11 anniversary forum on national service here at Columbia University in uptown New York city, whether he would give Barack Obama a cabinet job, he responded that he would. "Governor Schwarzenegger has made the service czar a cabinet-level appointment," Stengel said. "Would you, as president, do the same and would you name Senator Obama to your cabinet for National Service?" McCain paused for a beat before replying with a smile: "Yes!"...

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Reuters) – Republican nominee John McCain said in an interview aired on Sunday he would bring Democrats into his Cabinet and administration as part of his attempt to change the political atmosphere in Washington. "I don't know how many, but I can tell you, with all due respect to previous administrations, it is not going to be a single, 'Well, we have a Democrat now,"' McCain said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It's going to be the best people in America, the smartest people in America," he said in an interview taped on Saturday. Both McCain and...

WASHINGTON (AP) – John McCain pledges that if elected president, he'd appoint Democrats to his Cabinet. He says there's nothing partisan about tackling the nation's toughest problems. In an interview taped today for airing tomorrow, McCain tells CBS's "Face the Nation" he intends to have the best people in America in Cabinet. It's believed that McCain closely considered Senator Joe Lieberman as a running mate. The Connecticut independent is a former Democrat.

Republican John McCain pledged if elected president to appoint Democrats to his Cabinet, saying there's nothing partisan about tackling the nation's toughest problems. "I don't know how many, but I can tell you, with all due respect to previous administrations, it is not going to be a single ... 'Well we have a Democrat now.' It's going to be the best people in America," the GOP presidential nominee told CBS' "Face the Nation," in an interview taped Saturday that will be broadcast in full Sunday. "So many of these problems we face _ for example, energy independence, what's partisan about...

Romney also said if McCain is elected, he has absolutely no interest in a cabinet post. His father George, who lost the 1968 Republican nomination to Richard Nixon, ended up as Nixon's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. "I actually saw my dad serve as a cabinet secretary," Romney said. "One thing I know is, that's not a job I'd want. It's not a job I'd take." "My dad found that he was being ordered around by the White House and a bureaucracy inside his own department that was hard to move. It's not for me."

Cart before the horse, but fun. Who would make up your dream cabinet in the McCain-Palin administration? Santorum? Hunter? Romney?

DENVER -- The selection of Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, to be made official tonight, leaves an opening in Barack Obama's prospective cabinet, where Biden had been staking his claim to be Secretary of State. Biden wasn't the only senior Democrat to be mentioned for the nation's top diplomatic post, but the idea of having a long-serving senator in the post made some sense. With Obama emphasizing direct diplomacy over grand strategic thinking, a senior politician would presumably bring expertise both in deal-making (from those long nights hashing out compromises) and in familiarity with world leaders. With...

Yeah, yeah, he first has to win the presidency, but there's lots of buzz about whom Sen. Barack Obama might pick for his top cabinet jobs. Among them: Sen. Hillary Clinton as head of Health and Human Services. Her allies suggest she might be interested if the job were elevated to the top tier of agencies and if she were allowed to push healthcare reform. Other names: Sen. John Kerry as secretary of state, former Sen. Tom Daschle as White House chief of staff, former Clinton Commerce Secretary William Daley to head Treasury, and exiting Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel at...

Pure speculation time again! Here's my vision of a possible McCain Administration cabinet and some other key posts. Here we go: Agriculture - Marilyn Musgrave, Congresswoman (R-CO) Representing Colorado's 4th district, Musgrave is a staunch conservative, strong on domestic drilling and a member of the House Agriculture Committee. Commerce - Mitt Romney, former Governor (R-MA) Everyone knows that Mitt knows commerce. Defense - Sam Nunn, former Senator (D-GA) Nunn has more defense creds than anyone on the planet. He served nearly 25 years in the Senate and was chairman of the Committe on Armed Services. Many say he retired because...

It seems that everyone with a pen and paper is speculating about who will be John McCain's running mate. This is an intriguing political game and I don't have much to add to the record that hasn't already been said. If pressed, I would guess that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is the likely pick given that he is young, conservative and would give an edge to McCain in a region of the country that is expected to be in play this November. But who really knows? As speculative as it is to try to figure out who McCain will pick...

Israel Cabinet: Israel, Syria In Serious, Responsible Peace Negotiations By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem ----- May 25, 2008 ....... The following was communicated by the Israel Cabinet Secretariat and the Israel Government Press Office to the Israel News Agency. At the weekly Cabinet meeting held today in Jerusalem, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Israel Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin briefed ministers on diplomatic and security matters. The former discussed the resumption of contacts between Israel and Syria on the basis of the 1991 Madrid Conference. The latter reviewed the situation in Gaza, including the sides' positions on the...

BAGHDAD - Iraq's cabinet has given the green light to the Oil Ministry to sign agreements with international oil companies to help increase the nation's crude output, a ministry official said Wednesday. The two-year deals, known as technical support agreements, or TSAs, are designed to develop five producing fields to add 500,000 barrels per day to the country's 2.4 million barrels per day output. Last December, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC, ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. submitted technical and financial proposals for the five fields and received counterproposals from the Iraqi side. In January, representatives from the companies and...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a cabinet-level office for volunteer service Tuesday that aims to raise the profile of volunteerism and emergency relief in a state beset by wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Schwarzenegger named Karen Baker, executive director of the governor's commission for volunteerism, as secretary of service and volunteering, the first such state cabinet position in the country, he said. Speaking in a crowded hall at Cal State Northridge, he said he hoped the change would inspire other states to establish similar offices around the country. He gave his wife, Maria Shriver, credit for pushing the idea to...

The president has left his party in a precarious state. But the GOP candidates running in the wake of his wreckage can learn much from his failures. We are all stars in the movies that play in our minds: not true-life stories, exactly, but life as we imagine it could or should be. Little imperfections are conveniently forgotten or smoothed over, messy relationships downplayed or deep-sixed. The future beckons brightly, even if the past was dark or dreary. This need to believe in an idealized self is especially strong in politicians. They must get up every day and sell a...

MT. PLEASANT, South Carolina - Cisco Systems’ John Chambers and FedEx founder Fred Smith could be among those asked to serve in a John McCain cabinet, the Arizona senator said on Friday. Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young. US Senator John McCain greets supporters at a campaign event in Summerville, South Carolina, January 11, 2008. But their services would have to come at a discount. “I want to go get the best and the brightest, whether they’re Republican or Democrat, and I’m going to tell these men and women: ‘Work for a dollar. Work for a dollar a year. You’ve done pretty...

BAGHDAD - Iraq's Cabinet on Wednesday approved the draft of a general amnesty bill for detainees being held in Iraqi prisons, a measure which could go a long way toward reconciling Iraq's warring sects and factions. But the measure will not be brought to parliament for debate until March at the earliest, said Sami al-Askari a key adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Many key draft laws — including measures to share oil revenue and to allow some members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to hold government jobs — have remained mired for months in Iraq's gridlocked parliament. There was...

LAS VEGAS - Mitt Romney tells good jokes. I had the chance to hear a few of them this month at a political fundraiser in Las Vegas, where the Republican presidential contender gave his audience a few good chuckles before going into his domestic and foreign policy agenda. His platform seemed sound enough analytically – until he demonstrated an aggravating hypocrisy in his reply to my query on one of his key foreign policy positions. It's a stance that should give pause to all Americans who are considering voting for him. I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including...

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas was set to install a new emergency cabinet in the West Bank on Sunday, further sealing a divide sparked by the seizure of the Gaza Strip by Islamists. Palestinian officials hope the appointment of the new cabinet without Hamas ministers will lead to the lifting of a crippling Western aid boycott, and Israel has already said it will recognise and work with the new Palestinian government. The appointment of a new cabinet comes amid a continuing power struggle, with Fatah fighters storming the parliament in the West Bank and ransacking dozens...

ABOARD THE STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS, Manchester, N.H. – Republican John McCain says he intends to appoint a Democrat to a high-profile Cabinet post if he’s elected president. “There are very highly qualified Democrats on a number of issues,” McCain said. “The more efforts you can make towards bipartisanship, I think in Washington today, the better off you are. But it also better be, one, an important post and, two, a person who has the ear of the president.”

Israel Cabinet: Olmert To Serve As Acting Finance Minister By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem ----April 22...... The following was communicated by the Israel Cabinet Secretariat and the Israel Government Press Office to the Israel News Agency. At the weekly Cabinet meeting today Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that he had received Israel Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson’s statement that the latter was taking a temporary leave of absence as a result of the Israel police investigations in his regard and as per Article 24b of Israel Basic Law. Prime Minister Olmert noted that in keeping with Article 24b of...

'Medicine cabinet' found in wasps' antennae 12:57 02 April 2007 NewScientist.com news service Rowan Hooper Male beewolf wasp (Philanthus triangulum) with antennae that contain useful bacteria (Image: Martin Kaltenpoth) Beewolf wasps, named for the females' habit of hunting bees, have special reservoirs in their antennae, filled with bacteria. But not any old bacteria: beewolves (Philanthus triangulum) cultivate the antibiotic-producing Streptomyces and secrete them into their underground brood cells. Watch a video of a female wasp doing just that (2MB, wmv format). When a beewolf larva is ready to pupate, it applies the bacteria onto the silk threads of its cocoon....

Israel Cabinet: We Have No War With Palestinians By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem ---- March 11, 2007..... The following news story was communicated by the Israel Cabinet Secretariat to the Israel News Agency. At the weekly Israel Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that he would meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abu Mazen in Jerusalem this afternoon and added that it was possible that future meetings would be held in Palestinian cities on a reciprocal basis. Prime Minister Olmert said Israel and the PA had a series of issues to discuss. However, he added...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister said Saturday he will reshuffle his Cabinet within two weeks and pursue criminal charges against political figures linked to extremists as a sign of his government's resolve to restore stability during the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also told The Associated Press during an interview at his Green Zone office that Iraq will work hard to ensure the success of a regional security conference. The conference in Baghdad, tentatively set for next weekend, is expected to bring together all of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, as well as the...

Israel Cabinet Welcomes First Arab Muslim Minister By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem ----- February 4.... The following was communicated by the Israel Governmental Cabinet Secretariat to the Israel News Agency.At the weekly Cabinet meeting today in Jerusalem, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert congratulated Israeli Minister Raleb Majadele on his participation in his first Cabinet meeting: “Welcome. On behalf of the entire Government, I wish you success in fulfilling your position.” The Deputy Director of the Israel Security Agency briefed ministers on events in the Gaza Strip, including the violent clashes between various Palestinian elements and the political situation between...

Posted on: Friday, 5 January 2007, 06:15 CST 400-Year-Old Telescopes Appear in the Strangest of Places CHICAGO -- Like cell phones or the Internet in recent history, the telescope's introduction in the early 17th Century had a swift and lasting impact on the world. Telescopes revolutionized military strategy and within months showed the father of astronomy, Galileo Galilei, that Earth is not the center of the universe. Until recently, scholars thought only 8 or 10 of these important early telescopes _ made between 1608 and 1650 of tightly rolled paper and crudely ground lenses _ had survived to the present...