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Clinton 'Won't Speculate' on Obama Team

Sen. Hillary Clinton responded to rumors that she is being considered a possible candidate for secretary of state.

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Clinton, in a televised appearance Friday, said she would not speculate about Obama's Cabinet selections -- a slight shift in tone from before her meeting with him, when she said she would be happy to remain in her role as a senator. Her aides referred questions about the process to the Obama transition team, whose officials would not comment. Advisers warned that only a handful of officials know where Clinton ranks on Obama's shortlist.

But one Clinton veteran in touch with the transition team called it a "real possibility," while another Clinton associate she has a "very good chance" of getting the job. Obama aides cautioned against reports that the president-elect had formally offered Clinton the position, though they did not entirely reject the speculation, a marked difference from their response to reports over the summer that Obama was considering her as a running mate.

"Obviously, Hillary's got to make this decision herself," said Terence R. McAuliffe, who was her campaign chairman. "She's a spectacular senator, and health care is something she wants to battle on. But as secretary of state, she would have 100 percent name ID and she is a beloved figure who is continually rated the most admired woman in the world."

As rumors of a possible Clinton selection mounted, some Obama supporters privately expressed dismay that their hopes of bringing wholesale differences to Washington might be dashed. Clinton administration veterans are dominating some of early phases of the Obama administration, with John D. Podesta, who was Bill Clinton's chief of staff, leading the transition effort and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), a Clinton administration official, tapped to serve as White House chief of staff.

"What happened to all this talk about change?" said a member of the Clinton foreign policy team. "This isn't lightly flavored with Clintons. This is all Clintons, all the time."

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who supported Obama during the Democratic primaries, said it would be a "dream team on the global scene" and would "just on its face change foreign policy."

But Sharpton acknowledged that some African Americans would not support the choice. "The downside is a lot of people are still upset with the Clintons about their behavior during the primary. A lot of people are saying, 'Don't reward them.' " But he added that "clearly, Hillary Clinton has credentials. Barack Obama says he loves the book 'Team of Rivals,' so maybe he's trying to put together a Cabinet like Abe Lincoln."

Obama has taken several steps aimed at projecting bipartisan harmony since winning the presidency, including announcing that he will sit down on Monday with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), his opponent in the general election. Obama is expected to raise issues, such as energy policy, where the two could find potential agreement.

Obama is considering keeping Robert M. Gates, a Republican, on as defense secretary. He has also urged Democrats to refrain from retaliating against Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, despite the Connecticut independent's ardent support for McCain. And advisers with connections to the Obama transition are floating the idea of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat who aggressively backed Clinton in the primaries, as a possible Treasury secretary.

For Clinton, a move to State, where she would be the third woman to run the department, would offer an opportunity to lead a sprawling agency facing daunting challenges worldwide, a big leap from her role in the Senate, where she is still relatively junior and does not hold a committee chairmanship.

She does, however, carry the respect of her Senate colleagues, which probably would aid the confirmation process. In an interview, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a confidant of McCain, said Clinton would be an excellent choice for the post.

"She'll easily be confirmed if she gets chosen," Graham said. "That kinda surprised me, but she wouldn't be a bad choice at all. If she were chosen, she has the portfolio and the skills that would make her uniquely qualified for the job."

Staff writers Alec MacGillis, Michael Abramowitz, Michael A. Fletcher and Philip Rucker and staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.