| | Officials: Obama offered Clinton Secretary of State
 Barack Obama offered Sen. Hillary Clinton the post of Secretary of State, according to officials.
According to two senior Democratic Party officials, the president-elect made the offer to the junior senator from New York during their Thursday meet, the Huffington Post reported. According to the officials, Clinton "requested time to consider the offer."
Obama's and Clinton's advisers are remaining tight-lipped, but sources close to the president-elect's transition team told NBC News, Politico and the Associated Press, among others, that the former first lady is a prime candidate to oversee the State Department in an Obama administration.
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder reports on the meeting of the former election rivals:
Three independent sources say that President-elect Barack Obama met yesterday with Sen. Hillary Clinton in Chicago.
The meeting took place at Obama's transition offices in the mid-afternoon.
It did not appear on the schedule that's distributed to Clinton staff and handlers.
One knowledgeable source said that the meeting was "not an interview." The source would not elaborate. At this point, the speculation could be a trial-balloon from the Obama team, which also has been said to be considering Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and others for the spot. It could also be an attempt to reach out to and possibly co-opt Clinton, whose fierce primary campaign set her up as Obama's No. 1 rival in the Democratic party.
"The fact that this was being kibbitzed about could have been part of a process of trying to seem respectful of Hillary Clinton by leading members of the Obama team. It could have been a 'head fake.' Alternatively, it could have been real," writes Steve Clemons, a Washington foreign policy expert who was first tipped off about the possible Clinton placement last weekend.
Clinton was in Chicago Thursday for separate private business. It's unclear if she met with Obama or other members of his transition team, but a pool reporter staking out the president-elect said a three-SUV motorcade left his transition headquarters prior to Obama heading home Thursday evening.
"Clinton would be a formidable nominee despite her primary battles with Obama over the direction and temperament of foreign policy," notes The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder. "A member of the Senate Armed Services committee and as First Lady, she is on a first-name basis with world leaders and generals. News of Clinton's trip to Chicago has already made worldwide headlines."
Clinton was asked at a New York event on Monday if she would consider taking a position in the Obama administration. "I am happy being a senator from New York, I love this state and this city," she said, according to CNN.
"I am looking at the long list of things I have to catch up on and do. But I want to be a good partner and I want to do everything I can to make sure his agenda is going to be successful," Clinton added.
With AFP.
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