"It says something about Obama's larger strategic vision about how he is going to run his White House and deal with other strong actors in the political process," said Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. "That he's bringing not just Sen. Clinton, but also others of his rivals right into his own tent."
For his national security team, Democratic sources say that Obama appears to be reaching out to two retired four-star generals. Retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, who was the former head of NATO and U.S. forces in Europe, appears to be the leading contender for the national security adviser position. Retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair, former commander in chief of the Pacific Command and a sixth generation naval officer, has emerged as the top candidate for director of national intelligence.
Among other picks -- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is the chief candidate for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The governor, who Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also has endorsed for this position, has been an outspoken proponent of immigration reforms.
Eric Holder, the first black deputy attorney general, who served in the Clinton administration, will likely be picked for attorney general. A close Obama confidante, Holder led the president-elect's vice-presidential search committee with Caroline Kennedy.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has been picked to head the Department of Health and Human Services, where he would work on a health care plan that will provide universal access, as Obama promised in his campaign.
The transition team's goal is to assemble a group that can work well together, with as few confirmation and vetting issues as possible.
It will likely announce members of the economic team next week, but nominations of Clinton and other members of Obama's national security team will likely wait until after Thanksgiving.
"So far, this is a very impressive roll out of a very impressive group of people," Ornstein said. "It really says a few things about Barack Obama. One, it suggests that he has a pretty strong self-confidence. Two, that he's awfully savvy. Three, that he's a bit of a risk-taker, in this [Clinton] case."
ABC News' Avery Miller, Betsy Stark and Huma Khan contributed to this report.
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