Obama Hires Clinton Talent —to Avoid Clinton Mistakes

Barack Obama may be considering adding Hillary Clinton to his Cabinet, but his transition already has the feel of that other Clinton politician, Politico reports. Thirty-one of the 47 people named to new jobs so far are staffers who cut their Washington teeth in Bill Clinton's administration. The Obama camp is trying to avoid the rocky changeovers that plagued both Clinton and George W. Bush.

Obama’s decision to bring in a staff tied to the 1990s shows a concession to a Hillary talking point: that change requires experience. And, notes a former adviser to Clinton, who eschewed staffers with Carter ties in his “insular” transition, “the president-elect has the great good fortune of having a Democratic Party with a usable past.” (More President Obama stories.)