Obama Picks Clinton to be Secretary

Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat to become a secretary in the Obama White House, confidants said Friday.  

The accord between the two leading figures of the Democratic Party is the culmination of Clinton's decline from frontrunner to rival to endorser to assistant.  President-elect Barack Obama and Mrs. Clinton fought a polarizing nomination battle that threatened to divide the Democratic Party, but in recruiting her, Mr. Obama chose to turn a rival into an employee, and she concluded that, dammit, she was determined to get back into the White House somehow.

The role, though a supporting one, would make her one of the most influential players at the White House, requiring everyone who wants to meet with the President to negotiate their way past her desk.  It would also make former President Bill Clinton an ad hoc member of the Obama team, possibly in charge of catering.

Supporters of Mrs. Clinton were split on the announcement.  Some were offended that Obama would choose her for such a subordinate role, while others were confident that she would use her position to take control of the White House.  

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