Obama Cabinet Picks: Seasoned and Centrist

Pundits offer wide-ranging report card

(NEWSER) - On President Obama’s 100th day in office, Mark Halperin of Time provides a White House report card:

• Barack Obama: A-. “Instantly comfortable and highly skilled at the hardest job in the world.”
• Joe Biden: A-: Operates "precisely in the manner he and Obama discussed before he accepted the position."
• Hillary Clinton: A-. “A significant, powerful, worldly, respected figure.”
• Tim Geithner: C-. “Still lacks constituency support where it counts.”
• Michelle Obama: A+. “Aced the traditional role of First Lady while simultaneously modernizing the office.”

(NEWSER) - President Obama and Hu Jintao of China met today at the G20 summit in London and agreed to close cooperation on issues ranging from the economic crisis to global security, Time reports. Obama will travel to China later this year. Meanwhile, high-level representatives will meet in Washington during the summer to launch a "strategic and economic dialogue.” More»

Top Obama advisors push hard for 'Team of Rivals'

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton is at the top of the very short list for secretary of state in the Obama administration, Politico reports, as buzz on a possible “Team of Rivals” was accelerated by a mysterious "personal" trip Clinton made to Chicago yesterday. While the president-elect’s opinion remains unclear, several of his top advisers are said to be making a push for his former opponent. If nothing else, notes ABC, the idea has given Clinton the spotlight yet again, creating its own "3am in the transition" moment. More»

Treasury secretary says he's done after election

(NEWSER) - Tim Geithner is pretty sure he's going to be joining the ranks of the jobless after the election: The Treasury secretary—the longest serving member of President Obama's economic team—tells Bloomberg that Obama is "not going to ask me to stay on, I’m pretty confident. I’m confident he’ll be president. But I’m also confident he’s going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the Treasury." The White House announced in August that Geithner would stay put through the election, amid Beltway rumblings that he would step down. More»

Key figures deny harsh quotes, assertions of Obama weakness

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is fighting back against allegations from Ron Suskind's coming book Confidence Men that the president's top advisers undermined his authority and ignored his orders, reports Politico . “This is not what I told the author, this is not what I believe, and anyone who knows me and my history of supporting this president as a candidate and in office knows this isn’t true,” said former communications director Anita Dunn , who was quoted in Suskind's book as saying the White House was "a genuinely hostile workplace to women." More»