3 a.m. Seems So Long Ago

"Shame on you," Clinton once scolded her rival. She said Obama would "put the prestige of the presidency on the line," and her spokesman said Obama would flunk the "commander-in-chief test."

Obama said Clinton represented "the same typical politics that we've seen in Washington."

Clinton said Obama "never take[s] responsibility for any vote."

Obama on Clinton: "Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare mission accomplished a little too soon."

Clinton on Obama: "If you rail against the special interests, like the oil companies and all the giveaways and tax breaks they've been given, but you voted for Dick Cheney's energy bill, that's not change."

Obama on Clinton: "While I was working on those streets, watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart. I was fighting those fights."

Clinton on Obama: "You were practicing law and representing your contributor Rezko in a slum landlord business in inner-city Chicago."

But there in Tony Rezko's Chicago yesterday was Clinton herself. "She's an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capital," Obama said. "Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances."

Clinton, called to the microphone to say a "few words," uttered 470 of them, including a tribute to her fellow New Yorkers, praise for the troops, and thoughts about global warming and the economy. "Leaving the Senate is very difficult for me," she reported.

Reuters's Caren Bohan asked Obama how he could avoid "a clash of rivals" in his administration. "I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out," the president-elect replied. "So as Harry Truman said, the buck will stop with me."

The skepticism persisted. Obama found himself telling ABC News's Jake Tapper that his nominees "would not be joining this team unless they understood and were prepared to carry out the decisions that have been made by me," and telling the Times' Baker that if Clinton "didn't believe that I was equipped to lead this nation in such a difficult time, she would not have accepted."

The Chicago Tribune's John McCormick asked the president-elect for "a little bit of a story" about choosing Clinton. "It was not a light-bulb moment," Obama demurred. "I have always admired Senator Clinton."

A few minutes later, the talker and the monster departed the room, arm in arm.