Dec 2, 2008 6:10 am US/Eastern
Hillary To Remain In Senate Until Confirmed
President-Elect Obama Officially Nominates Clinton As His Secretary Of State, Ending Weeks Of Speculation
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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President elect Barack Obama arrives to nominate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State during a press conference in Chicago.
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It's official – Sen. Hillary Clinton is moving on.
On Monday she has accepted the President-elect Barack Obama's nomination to be Secretary of State.
It's a far cry from a year ago, when Clinton was ripping into Obama for his slim resume on foreign affairs.
But, that was then and this is now.
The former rivals were side by side Monday and the two had nothing but praise for each other.
Obama has said he wants his foreign policy aimed at preventing conflicts and rebuilding failed states -- and there may no better way to do that than choosing a hawkish Secretary of State like Clinton.
It's the diplomatic equivalent of good cop bad cop.
"I think she is going to be an outstanding Secretary of State," Obama said. "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't have offered the job and if she didn't believe that I was equipped to lead this nation at such a difficult time, she would not have accepted."
Added Clinton: "This is a huge honor and if I am confirmed I will give my all."
Obama ended weeks of speculation by making it official: His bitter primary enemy is now a lot more than his friend. She's his top foreign policy advisor. It's also the answer to the cheeky question she asked during the campaign.
"It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, but there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing. Who do you want answering the phone?" went the much ballyhooed attack ad.
The truth is that while it will be Obama answering the phone, it may very well be Clinton on the other end informing her president about some new foreign policy crisis.
Experts seem to believe Obama made a good choice.
"It shows a boldness in the Obama vision, clearly an interest in welcoming diversity of opinion and a willingness to entertain strong personalities in his cabinet," Baruch College professor David Birdsell said.
But the appointment didn't come easy.
"With regards to Senator and soon-to-be Secretary of State Clinton, there was no light bulb moment," Obama said.
For Hillary to get the job, former President Bill Clinton had to agree to get his wings clipped. He has to name over 200,000 donors to his foundation and agree to have all future speeches and business deals pre-cleared by Obama ethics experts.
"Trying to get a handle on that and trying to take somebody who has been the chief spokesman for the United States and make sure he takes a subordinate role to a new administration is only prudent," Birdsell said.
Some had hoped that Hillary Clinton would resign her seat early to give her replacement a leg up in Senate seniority, but a Clinton spokesman said she will represent New York until she is officially confirmed in her new post.
Who's going to replace her? Right now there's only one man in the state who may know -- and he's not talking.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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