Clinton Nomination Is 'On Track'

Barack Obama is 'on track' to nominate Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state, according to an aide to the president-elect.

The announcement is expected after Thanksgiving, the Obama transition official said late Thursday. Clinton aides couldn't be reached to comment.

The word that New York Sen. Clinton was headed to Foggy Bottom came the same day that people close to the transition said Mr. Obama had settled on a second woman for a high-profile post: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano for secretary of homeland security.

Sen. Clinton is choosing to focus the next stage of her career on foreign policy, forgoing her Senate seat and the chance to work universal health-care legislation, a long-time interest and an area of genuine expertise. She may have been persuaded to move to a new arena in part because others with more seniority in the Senate were already seizing the health-care issue, and as a still-junior member, she would have had to have fought for prominence.

During the Democratic primaries, Sen. Clinton positioned herself as a centrist on U.S. foreign policy. She echoed Mr. Obama's call for a prioritizing of diplomacy over military might in addressing America's national-security challenges. She also pledged to rebuild Washington's alliances in Europe and Asia.

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美国当选总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)的一位助手透露，希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton)有望被奥巴马任命为下任国务卿。



Associated Press

希拉里在为奥巴马助选



这位助手周四晚间表示，预计任命的消息会在感恩节后宣布。记者未能联系到希拉里的助手进行采访。

就在传出希拉里有望成为国务卿这一消息的同一天，据接近奥巴马过渡班子的人士说，奥巴马已圈定第二位女性内阁人选，即有望出任国土安全部部长的现亚利桑那州州长纳波里塔诺(Janet Napolitano)。

希拉里选择将其下一阶段职业生涯专注于外交政策，为此她将放弃参议员席位和参与全民医疗立法工作的机会，这是其长久以来的兴趣所在和一家需要极其出色的专业知识的领域。她或许已经被说服转向一个新领域，这在某种程度上是因为，已有其他更资深的参议员占据了医疗立法领域。作为一名资历尚浅的议员，她要想脱颍而出将不得不付出艰苦努力。

在参加本届大选党内初选时，希拉里在外交政策上的定位是中间派。她的立场与奥巴马所呼吁的将外交目标优先放在关系到美国国家安全问题的军事大国上的主张是一致的。她还表示要重建华盛顿在欧洲和亚洲的同盟。