New Delhi: Defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton could be secretary of state in the Obama administration. Her office has confirmed that she is in Chicago on what they described as personal business.
But Chicago is where president elect Barack Obama presently is with his transition team. It's not clear if Hillary had any meetings with him. But Democratic Party insiders say appointing her to a key cabinet position would heal the divisions in the party.
Hillary is known to be reluctant on setting a date for US troop withdrawal from Iraq but in India she is seen as a friend and her appointment would be widely welcomed.
This largely because it was husband the former president Bill Clinton who opened a dialogue after the series of nuclear tests and took India's side during the Kargil war. Hillary draws strong political and financial support from the 2 million strong Indian American community in the US.
They will be a solid foundation if she makes another bid for the presidency in the future She has called for India and the US to work together against terrorism and building democracy in Pakistan and also has called for an Indian role in issues ranging from globalisation to non proliferation
In US for women, progress this election year was defined by "creeping and leaping," said CNN contributor Hilary Rosen.
Rosen favored Hillary Clinton, but she and other influential women pundits and activists note that Clinton and Gov. Sarah Palin's loss at the polls does not diminish the strides they made for their gender.
Obama has picked Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois to be White House chief of staff.
Health care is another priority, and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota is a possibility for secretary of health and human services.
Democratic sources also have said Howard Dean, a doctor who had a strong run as the Democratic National Committee chairman, is hungry for the HHS job.
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