The Note: Dream of Rivals

Nov. 14, 2008— -- So much for no drama.

Surely a certain soon-to-be-ex-senator knows this by now, but here's the thing about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: She tends to steal the scenes she's playing in.

Until the subject of her "private business" Thursday in Chicago is resolved -- and maybe until and even beyond the press conference announcing the new secretary who's headed to Foggy Bottom -- it will be 3 am in the transition process.

The Hillary rumors are the first potential stumbling block for the smooth machine that is President-elect Barack Obama's transition efforts -- and it revolves around a storyline that seems never to get old.

There's a decent chance this is just flattery, and an almost-equal chance that Clinton doesn't even want the job. But what does it say that no one is seriously waving off the possibility that Obama actually does want Hillary Clinton answering that ringing phone?

"Discussions about Clinton, D-N.Y., being asked to accept the post are 'very serious,' an Obama source says," per ABC's Martha Raddatz, Jake Tapper, and Z. Byron Wolf. "Asked if Hillary Clinton would consider the secretary of state job, a former official in President Clinton's administration said, 'I think so. What would you rather do -- be senator or secretary of state?' "

"She's smart, she's strong, she's experienced, she's a team player, she is usually pretty diplomatic, and she also brings some gender diversity to an Obama Team concerned about such matters," ABC's Tapper and Sunlen Miller report. "She brings instant stature to the job, one Democrat told me. Many world leaders have known her for almost two decades."

"But Obama and Clinton clashed frequently on international issues during their contentious primary battle," Tapper reported on "Good Morning America" Friday. "Clinton suggested Obama was naive on wanting to talk to Iran and reckless in discussing a willingness to strike terrorists in Pakistan without government permission."

"There's increasing chatter in political circles that the Obama camp is not overly happy with the usual suspects for secretary of state these days," Al Kamen writes in his Washington Post column. "And Obama could put her in his speed-dial for a 3 a.m. phone call each morning."

(Easiest joke in town: Would Bill Clinton want to fill out those Obama job application forms? Does Hillary Clinton want to go into detail about revelations that could potentially embarrass her would-be boss?)

Obama, of course, has plenty of experience with the Clintons. But in this delicate period where he remains around the presidency but not quite of it, this is one piece of the process where a little less transparency and openness could go a long way.

The AP's Liz Sidoti sources her report to "two Democratic officials in close contact with the Obama transition team": "Clinton, the former first lady who pushed Obama hard for the Democratic presidential nomination, was rumored to be a contender for the job last week, but the talk died down as party activists questioned whether she was best-suited to be the nation's top diplomat in an Obama administration. The talk resumed in Washington and elsewhere Thursday, a day after Obama named several former aides to President Bill Clinton to help run his transition effort."

"Her selection as top U.S. diplomat could also mean a more hawkish foreign policy than that advocated by Obama during his presidential campaign. On the campaign trail, Clinton was more reluctant than Obama to commit to a firm timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq," per Reuters' Steve Holland.

"Democratic aides report that Clinton's Senate staff was suddenly very busy and very opaque about the reason for their activity," Marc Ambinder writes on his Atlantic blog. "That said, there is no reason, other than speculation, to believe that Obama has suddenly warmed to the idea of putting a harsh rival into his cabinet; it's not known whether Obama trusts Clinton; whether he trusts her managerial ability; whether they've reconciled personally; it is certainly true that many former Clinton aides are now working for Obama, including several of Hillary Clinton's top policy advisers."

"Several Obama transition advisers are strongly advocating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for secretary of State, a move that would create the ultimate 'Team of Rivals' cabinet, according to officials involved in the discussions," per Politico's Mike Allen. "Some even call her the favorite. It is not known what Obama himself thinks of the idea. But the fact that it is being entertained within his camp shows how much things have changed in the months since he defeated her for the Democratic nomination in a protracted primary marathon."

From the last Thursday Obama pool report, courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times' Abdon M. Pallasch: "Several minutes before President-elect Obama's motorcade emerged from the basement garage beneath his transition headquarters, another unidentified motorcade of approximately three SUVs left the garage."

She'd know the players: "Obama's victory in the general election produced what his primary campaign couldn't: A swift merger of the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party with the Illinois Senator's self-styled insurgency. The merger began, during the campaign, in the policy apparatus -- which is now rapidly becoming the governing apparatus," Ben Smith and Carrie Budoff Brown write for Politico. "The absorption of the Clinton government in waiting represents Obama's choice not to repeat what he and his advisors see as an early mistake made by the last two presidents: Attempting to wield power in Washington through an insular campaign apparatus new to town."

Look for Obama to name more top White House staffers Friday (Press Secretary Robert Gibbs?), and new agency review teams Friday.

Did someone say drama? Remember this guy? (Sarah Palin does.)

"I knew Barack Obama, absolutely, and I knew him probably as well as thousands of other Chicagoans. And like millions and millions of people worldwide, I wish I knew him better -- right now," Bill Ayers told Chris Cuomo on ABC's "Good Morning America" Friday.

Ayers said Obama asked him to host a coffee as a state senator: "He was probably in 20 homes that day, as far as I know," Ayers said.

"I became an issue unwittingly and unwillingly in the campaign," he added. "I don't buy the idea that guilt by association should be any part of our politics."

But: "I don't think we did enough -- just as today, I don't think we've done enough to stop these wars," Ayers said.

And: "A violent terrorist war was being waged against an entire population. We tried to end that war. And in trying to end it, we did cross the lines of propriety, of legality, maybe even of common sense. But we never committed terror."

While the bloggers chew that over, Friday brings a big hint to the techies who are wondering what a wired presidency will look like. From the transition office: