Choice of Clinton carries risks for Obama

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WASHINGTON, Dec 01 (Reuters): United States (US) President-elect Barack Obama, inspired by his hero Abraham Lincoln's idea of creating a 'team of rivals' in his Cabinet, may be gambling by choosing his ex-adversary Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
Obama admires the New York senator's work ethic, his aides have said. He also believes the former first lady's star power would boost his efforts to improve America's global standing.
Beyond that, Obama sees value in Lincoln's concept of bringing together strong personalities to allow for rigorous debate. He hopes that will lead to sound decision-making -- a strategy described in 'Team of Rivals', a book about Lincoln by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.
But Obama may be courting trouble in tapping the woman he narrowly defeated in the race for the Democratic White House nomination, some analysts say. They note that Clinton maintains her own power base within the party and may not have fully put to rest her own presidential ambitions.
"She is someone who nearly became president," said Reginald Dale, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "She is a major political leader in her own right and probably feels she still ought to be president. She would be pretty forward in advancing her policies."
Many experts cite the close relationship between former secretary of state James Baker and President George HW Bush as the model for a well-functioning foreign policy team.
They note that President George W Bush had a much chillier relationship with his first secretary of state, Colin Powell.
That undercut Powell's clout abroad and tilted the balance of power in the White House toward Bush's hawkish Vice President Dick Cheney.
"When foreign leaders spoke with Baker, they knew that they were speaking to President Bush, and they knew that President Bush would defend Baker from domestic rivals and the machinations of foreign governments," wrote New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.
Clinton may have ultimately backed Obama and campaigned vigorously for him, but she has never been close to Obama and that could leave questions among some foreign leaders about whether she truly speaks for him, Friedman wrote.
Clinton is one of several high-profile picks Obama will roll out on Monday as he unveils his national security team.
Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, the former NATO commander, will be named White House national security adviser, a Democratic official said. Obama will also announce that Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who has served under several Republican presidents, would continue his job in the new administration.
Another foreign-policy player will be Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Fluent in French with more than four decades of military experience, Jones, a former Marine commandant, is known for an engaging personality. He has not aligned himself with either the Democratic or Republican party.