No. Obama will offer positions to "Republicans" like Chuck Hegel -- people who have an R after their name, but who are on the outs with the party as currently situated.

There's some talk of having Gates stick around at the Pentagon. And I wouldn't be totally surprised to see Paulson stay. And maybe Obama could pull some Bush 41 people -- the realists who can't stand the neo-cons.

Be funny to see Powell back at State -- no white males there since '96.

Realistically though, if the President calls you up and says, "I need you," you click your heels and say, "Sir, yes sir!"

I think he may decide to surprise. I recall someone saying he had earned political capital right before throwing it down the toilet. It would be interesting to see someone make something of the opportunity.

Maybe.

But I think that if he were that conciliatory, he'd have taken La Clinton on as Veep.

That he didn't tells me that he'll take his own path, thank you very much.

***

Anyway, reconciliation is overrated. What matters is getting something done -- if you succeed, a lot of people will claim to have been with you all the way.

All the commentators are saying that Obama needs to move to the right and cross the isle and blah blah blah. Why? He won, it's a D house and a D senate and for the love of God, why move to the right? Oh, yeah, because the powers that be are TERRIFIED of him.

Ben: if Barak took Hilary as his veep he'd have been slaughtered at the polls. I'm not sure that someone as establishment as Biden was totally necessary, but Clinton is both establishment AND divisive. Obama had enough of that to deal with on his own, he needed somebody nice and benign as his twic.

I'd prefer that he move right (as that's where I am) but I assume that he'll do whatever he feels like doing -- and the voters will then have a chance to judge his party in 2010 and the president himself in 2012.

I disagree re Clinton -- if he'd picked her, it wouldn't even have been a contest this fall.

But he felt that he could win on his own, and picked a VP to help in governing (Joe Biden, god help us), and did.

***

But as for the President and the Congress -- Clinton had a Democrat Senate and House in '93, as did Carter in '77. How'd those turn out for those presidents?

(I'll answer -- neither got his agenda through, and then one lost Congress, the other lost the White House.)

I think he'll surprise by making picks both right and left of what a normal Dem would do. The quote says *all* perspectives.

Yes, but some perspectives are... wrong. :)