Obama names Hillary Clinton Secretary of State

Following up on his plan to create a "team of rivals" to advise him, President-elect Obama today nominated Senator Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State. He also unveiled the other members of his national security team.

In addition to Clinton's nomination, Obama also announced Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense, Eric Holder as Attorney General, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United Nations and General Jim Jones, USMC (Ret) as National Security Adviser.

Speaking at a press conference Monday morning in Chicago, Obama called for "a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy; our intelligence and law enforcement; our economy and the power of our moral example."

Despite a bitter primary campaign that often pitted Clinton against Obama, the two were all smiles on Monday, praising one another profusely. "Mr. President-elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century," said Senator Clinton, "and may God bless you and all who serve with you, and our great country."

Asked about comments he made during the campaign that seemed to belittle Clinton's foreign policy experience as simply sitting around for tea with foreign leaders, Obama backtracked from his previous remarks, attributing them to the heat of a primary campaign. The president-elect said he and Clinton would not have agreed to work with each other if they did not have confidence in one another and did not share the same values about the direction of the country.

The president-elect also deflected a question about Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Bush appointee, and declined to state if Gates is a Republican or if he planned to appoint other Republicans to his administration. Obama said his new team shares his "pragmatism about the use of power" and his "sense of purpose about America's role as a leader in the world."

The news conference, which lasted nearly an hour, was different from the three news conferences Obama held last week in announcing his economic team. Unlike last week, all the nominees spoke this time, and Vice President-elect Biden also spoke. Biden praised his boss for assembling "a national security team that is poised to recapture the totality of America's strength."