Blue Spot

AFP: Obama considers Clinton for secretary of state: reports WASHINGTON

(AFP) — US president-elect Barack Obama is considering naming former first lady Hillary Clinton -- his onetime rival for the White House -- as his secretary of state, US news media reported on Friday.

Two unnamed Obama advisers told NBC News network that Clinton, now a senator for New York, "is under consideration" for the post.

According to NBC, Clinton flew to Chicago -- where Obama is based -- on Thursday, but an adviser said it was on personal business.

Obama sources confirmed to CNN that Clinton was being considered, but her spokesperson Philippe Reines was non-committal when asked.

"Any speculation about cabinet or other administration appointments is really for president-elect Obama's transition team to address," Reines told CNN.

Clinton, 61, has extensive foreign policy experience from her time in the senate, where she serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and indirectly when her husband Bill Clinton was president from 1993 to 2001.

Several big names have been mentioned in the press as possible Obama secretaries of state including another former Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry; New Mexico governor and former UN ambassador Bill Richardson, a favorite of the Latino community; and moderate Republican senators Richard Lugar and Chuck Hagel.

Labels: Hillary, Obama administration, President-elect Obama