Madame Secretary

It's official: Hillary will be announced tomorrow as the next Secretary of State.  Even more remarkable than Obama bringing on his former rival in such a prominent role, I'd say, is that fact that Obama got Big Dog Bill Clinton to disclose so many donors to his foundations.   

It's clear who's in charge now.

Hillary Clinton: Secretary of State?

That's the buzz this morning.  According to my sources, we can confirm that Sen. Clinton has been in Chicago recently, too.  

Thoughts about this appointment:

1) I think it would a strong move, but not necessarily as radical as the press is making/would make it out to be.  Team of Rivals, potentially--but remember, Lincoln had a Team of Rivals during the Civil War, and their differences were much greater at a much more divisive time.  (Also, it's important to note that the Republican Party was roughly 10 years old in the 1860s, so there just weren't that many top-flight Republicans to choose from who hadn't run for president.)   Remember back to the primaries: Obama and Clinton weren't far apart on most issues.  These would be two former (and potentially future) political rivals, but not philosophical rivals, by and large.

2) Baseless speculation: wouldn't Clinton be good at Defense? Think about it: she's been on Armed Services, she's certainly hawkish enough to pass muster with the conservative military establishment, and she has observed a commander-in-chief's decision-making from one of the closest distances possible.  To boot, it's another glass ceiling to break, ending the streak of white men in charge of the Pentagon.

3) This continues the Obama administration's parallels of the West Wing, where the new president chooses his top political rival to head the State Department. (Learn about the specific parallels--but have the end of the show spoiled--here)