Below The Beltway

There were a few times this week when it seemed like the entire idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State was little more than media-created hype.
Now, it looks like it will be official after the Thanksgiving holiday:
Hillary Rodham Clinton will be named Barack Obama’s secretary of state, Democratic sources say.
President-elect Barack Obama is “on [...]

It appears that the process of rolling out Barack Obama’s foreign policy team is being delayed by one woman:
CHICAGO — Over here at the Midwest branch of the White House, the game of musical chairs has shifted into high gear.
Just under a week after news broke that President-elect Barack Obama met with Senator Hillary Rodham [...]

Bill Clinton is reportedly offering to subject himself to some fairly stringent monitoring by the Obama White House if Hillary becomes Secretary of States:
WASHINGTON — Former president Bill Clinton has offered several concessions to help pave the way for his wife to be nominated as secretary of state, Democrats close to the negotiations with the [...]

The Politico is reporting some speculation that Hillary Clinton might decline Barack Obama’s offer to serve as Secretary of State:

Hillary Rodham Clinton isn’t certain she would accept the Secretary of State post even if Barack Obama offers it to her, several people close to the former first lady say.
Press reports that portray Clinton as willing [...]

Some of sharpest criticism of the idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is coming from some of Barack Obama’s strongest supporters:
Barack Obama’s serious flirtation with his one-time rival, Hillary Clinton, over the post of secretary of State has been welcomed by everyone from Henry Kissinger to Bill Clinton as an effective, grand gesture [...]

The Guardian is reporting that Hillary Clinton will accept Barack Obama’s invitation to join his cabinet as Secretary of State:
Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.
Obama’s advisers have begun looking [...]

A fairly good endorsement from perhaps the best-known former Secretary of State in recent history:
Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) — Henry Kissinger said Hillary Clinton, frontrunner to be the next U.S. Secretary of State, would be an “outstanding” appointment to the post.
New York Senator Hillary Clinton appears to be President- elect Barack Obama’s leading choice for secretary [...]

George Stephanopolous reports that the one thing holding up Hillary Clinton’s formal nomination as Secretary of State may be figuring out what to do about her husband:
All my reporting tells me that Barack Obama wants Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State, and that Clinton wants the job too.
But there’s one significant complication: how [...]

The New York Times surveys the landscape to see what might happen to Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat if she steps down to become Secretary of State:
Word that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was a contender to become President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state set off frenzied speculation in New York political circles on Friday about who [...]

It looks like the President-Elect is keeping his options open:
CNN has learned that President-elect Barack Obama spoke with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Friday to discuss the post of Secretary of State.
A senior Democratic source tells CNN that Richardson’s name has always been on Obama’s list for that post. Obama has also gauged Sen. Hillary [...]