The Note: The Teammates

Nov. 17, 2008— -- Questions worth pondering while you're thinking about the prospect of a Palin-free week:

1. Who will play a bigger role in filling out President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet -- Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, or Doris Kearns Goodwin?

2. Will the Republican Party have to blow itself up to put itself back together? (Which of those directions does Mike Huckabee's new book take the party?)

3. Will the president-elect spend more political capital getting a playoff system for college football than he will pushing a bailout package to help save Detroit? (And will he spend this much time in the gym when he's in the White House?)

4. What does it say about the most open and transparent transition in history that Obama meets in super-secrecy with Democrats, while press releases are sent out for meetings with Republicans?

5. Who's the more powerful Republican this week -- John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, or John McCain?

The rival reclamation tour continues Monday in Chicago, with Obama set to meet at noon ET with that other individual who almost stopped him from becoming president: McCain.

McCain is at heart a dealmaker, and his return to the Senate as part of a diminished GOP caucus enhances his opportunities to cut them. Just like he'd have to if he'd won, McCain will be forced to work with Democrats -- and, of course, there's one Democrat in particular whose cooperation is vital if McCain wants to remain a potent force.

McCain, R-Ariz., has no more friends in the Senate (in either party) than he did before he ran. And the Senate remains the place where some of the bolder Obama ideas may go to die.

But McCain won't be speaking for leadership in the new Congress. Even more than after his 2000 run, he is one of a handful of senators whose celebrity brings power that can't be measured by chairmanships or seniority (Hillary Clinton is another). When an Obama measure -- any measure -- is sent to Congress, who do you think will be the first lawmaker reporters seek out for reaction?

"Both have much to gain from swift reconciliation after a bitter contest," The Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Weisman and Laura Meckler write. "Mr. Obama's pledge to move beyond the partisan bickering requires Republican partners. Sen. McCain would be a potent symbol -- and one with a long history of working with Democrats on key issues on the president-elect's agenda: climate change, energy efficiency and national service. . . . Obama aides stress the opportunity the president-elect is offering Sen. McCain."

The Palin mania that's enveloped the past week has mostly enhanced McCain by not focusing on his missteps (other than, possibly, his selection of Sarah Palin).

So the Arizona senator returns to the Hill with the potential to be more of a power source than ever -- the one man whose reaction to an Obama proposal could immediately set the tone for debate.

"Sources close to McCain say their man wants to leave the campaign behind and return to the role he forged for himself on Capitol Hill as the leading reformer and bi-partisan legislator in the Senate," Time's James Carney writes. "By meeting with McCain so shortly after the election, Obama is demonstrating both magnanimity and self-confidence. But his move is also based on self-interest. Obama is keenly aware of the fact that, despite increased Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House, he cannot enact the kind of sweeping legislative overhaul he envisions without the help of Republicans."

With two years left on his term -- why wouldn't he want to be a player? And the choice of wingmen for Monday's meeting -- new White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel for Obama, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. -- for McCain -- says that both men are serious about a potential partnership.

"Graham said that McCain and Obama are philosophically alike on budget reform, Social Security changes, earmark reform and immigration," per The Washington Post's Michael Shear. "One thing not expected to be on the agenda: a rehash of the sometimes not-so-nice things said on the campaign trail. Those close to both men say they have moved on and are focused on the future."

"There is no agenda for the meeting, Graham said. McCain wants to learn how Obama plans to proceed and 'where we can fit in,' Graham said, citing work on climate change as a potential area of common ground," USA Today's David Jackson reports.

From the Obama-Biden transition office: "It's well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality." (No staffing announcements expected Monday.)

This week could see the first Obama Cabinet selections (though that's less likely than it appeared a week ago) -- but there's really only one job seeker that can be talked about, until or unless it's resolved.

"All my reporting tells me that Barack Obama wants Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State, and that Clinton wants the job too," ABC's George Stephanopoulos writes. "But there's one significant complication: how to make sure that former President Clinton's foreign speeches, business dealings and foundation work don't present conflicts of interest."

"One major sticking point -- the complex web of international business relationships of former president Bill Clinton and the top-secret funding of his charitable foundation," ABC's Jake Tapper reported on "Good Morning America" Monday. "A definite line of questioning in any confirmation hearing -- and a potential roadblock for any Obama-Hillary Clinton deal."

A hint? Steve Kroft asked about the Lincoln thing in his "60 Minutes" interview -- referencing Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals": "Well, I tell you what, I find him a very wise man," said Obama, who also said he'll include at least one Republican in his Cabinet.

(Newsweek etches Obama's onto the penny, and turns to the biographer herself for an assessment: "I think he's got a temperamental set of qualities that have some resemblance to Lincoln's emotional intelligence," says Goodwin.)

Also from "60 Minutes": "Obama refused to be pinned down about when he would make his first Cabinet appointments, responding 'soon.' He also said there would be Republicans in the Cabinet but declined to say whether he would appoint more than one," The Chicago Tribune's John McCormick writes.

Here comes the dicey part: "President-elect Barack Obama's advisers have begun reviewing former President Bill Clinton's finances and activities to see whether they would preclude the appointment of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary of state," The New York Times' Peter Baker and Helene Cooper report. "A team of lawyers trying to facilitate the potential nomination spent the weekend looking into Mr. Clinton's philanthropic organization, interactions with foreign governments and ties to pharmaceutical companies, a Democrat close to both camps said."

They've taken this dance pretty far: "More than a dozen advisers to both sides said Sunday that although they did not have firm information, they considered it improbable that Mr. Obama would have opened the door to Mrs. Clinton's appointment without having decided, at least in principle, that he would like to make it happen. Rejecting her after letting the possibility become so public would risk a new rupture in a party that spent much of the year divided between Mr. Obama and the Clintons," Baker and Cooper write.