Obama Names National Security Team
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 1, 2008 6:20PM
President-Elect Obama held a press conference in Chicago this morning to announce his nominations for members of his National Security team, saying, "Our destiny is shared with the world's. From our markets to our security, from our public health to our climate, we must act with the understanding that now more than ever we have a stake in what happens across the globe." His nominations are:
- Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
- Defense Secretary Robert Gates to keep his post
- Susan Rice, ambassador to the United Nations,
- Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, national security adviser,
- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security director
- Eric Holder, attorney general
Most eyebrows were raised by his nomination of former opponent Hillary Clinton with whom Obama sparred over foreign policy during the Democratic primaries. Obama has also garnered praise for keeping Gates on the staff, though with the country at war, it's not that big of a surprise. All of the nominees, as well as Vice President-Elect Joe Biden, appeared at the press conference. In regards to Clinton, Obama defended his choice, saying:
She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capitol, and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world...Look, if you look at the statements that Hillary Clinton and I have made outside of the heat of a campaign, we share a view that America has to be safe and secure, and in order to do that we have to combine military power with strengthened diplomacy.Obama even took some time to pass the mic to each nominee to allow them a moment to address the press.