Nov 21, 2008 12:08 am US/Eastern
Aide: Obama On Track To Nominate Clinton
Transition Aide Says New York's Junior Senator Could Be Offered The Position Right After Thanksgiving
Former First Lady Cool & Collected At Harlem Ribbon Cutting
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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A transition aide said that Barack Obama is on track to nominate Hillary Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The reporters and television crews were out in force at the ribbon cutting for the "Squash Street" athletic courts on West 115th Street in Harlem, hoping to hear some confirmation from Sen. Hillary Clinton about the possibility of her becoming the next Secretary of State. It wasn't happening.
The senator's advance people insisted that the event organizers herd the members of the media behind stanchions and ropes before Clinton's arrival. They wanted to give her sufficient distance to ignore the questions that would inevitably follow and she did. She didn't even take the energy to stop and say she couldn't talk about it. She just waved mechanically behind a tight smile.
"We're gonna miss you," someone said unconvincingly.
Democratic sources now confirm that Sen. Clinton is "on track" to be offered the Secretary of State post in the Obama administration as early as next Friday. An aide to the Obama transition team in Chicago told The Associated Press that the post would likely be offered "sometime after Thanksgiving."
This came a day after former President Bill Clinton agreed to open up the finances behind the Clinton Presidential Library and the Clinton Overseas Initiative, something he did NOT do during his wife's quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton friend Larry Davis told CBS News in New York that Mr. Clinton "will do whatever it takes to support Sen. Clinton if the offer is made and she accepts Secretary of State."
The question is, if the post if offered will she take it or opt to stay in the Senate? At the squash court event in Harlem one reporter managed to yell out a question as the senator spoke about young people.
"Young people want to know if you're going to be Secretary of State," he said.
"Somehow, I don't think that's on a lot of young people's minds," she said to round of laughter.
In Chicago where President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team is assembling the new cabinet names, top aides remain publicly guarded on the subject of Sen. Clinton. Obama advisor David Axelrod said, "She's obviously a talented public official and someone who would enhance any team."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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