This info wouldn't be "leaking" out if the offer hadn't really been made and if there were any danger of Clinton turning down the offer. Can you imagine, after the long and bitter primary, if the Obama campaign psyched out the national press corps and public with a red herring story about offering her the job? Can you also imagine Clinton insulting the new prez so publicly by turning it down, after the story has broken worldwide? Fat chance.

HRC will be the next Secretary of State. There's no doubt in my mind.

One intriguing possibility, though, is that the tightly controlled Obama camp deliberately leaked the info in order to back her into a corner and, in effect, force her to accept. Maybe they met, he offered, she asked for time to think about it, and later his staff leaked the info in a power play to force her hand?

So much for the old Obambi bullshit. This Obama group knows how to play ball!

Let the wingnuts rejoice!

...then my estimation of Obama goes up a notch.

Ballsy, all around.

"One intriguing possibility, though, is that the tightly controlled Obama camp deliberately leaked the info in order to back her into a corner and, in effect, force her to accept."

That was exactly what I was thinking, especially given how the "leak" about Rahm Emanuel went down. He acted like someone who knew he was being bullied and he wanted to play hard to get, even though he was probably going to accept the offer to be chief of staff anyway.

Dunno about Hillary, though. What with the 8 million she feels Obama still owes her, I wouldn't all be surprised if she turns him down flat just to hand him his first big embarrassment of the transition. I wouldn't put it past her, although I certainly hope I'm wrong.

When stories are published with unnamed sources -- and not even indicating from which camp the sources came -- then it is impossible to know. Consider the leaked the information about Obama's meeting with Bush, information that was subsequently denied by both sides. I am thinking that the info was somewhat true and that the leak came from Obama's camp to prevent a quid quo pro linking trade deals to a stimulus package.

I suspect people will start to blame Clinton for a leak and say she is trying to force Obama's hand. I hope that they don't drag out that old sexist "calculating" stuff again.

The fact is that both Clinton and Obama have celebrity status as well as political status. Either one can suck all the air out of a room and it is impossible to stop speculation.

Ordinarily I would say that such an announcement would come later, but if he has really chosen Clinton and she accepts, we should know soon. A formal announcement would certainly be kinder to others who hoped to be picked as Secretary of State.

Now that is one secretarial position that women can be proud to see a woman fill. Also, I would surely look forward to seeing Clinton's smiling face rather than the grim demeanor of Condi.

As to pantsuits, they're making a comeback. In hard times, no woman wants a cold wind blowing upon her ass.

seems to be what is going on here - first the raising the balloon about Summers (bad, bad idea!) and now Clinton.

They have had so much control up until now it is almost impossible to beleive these leaks are not calculated and coming from the top and timed for maximum impact.

Incidentally, I'm sure they already worked it out but I think the "leak" if you can really call it that was intended specifically for Iran who have come out with some classically wingnut statements - I'm paraphrasing here - to meet without preconditions but with a secret agenda is a betrayal - blah blah blah. Announcing Hillary as SOS just after that is a double fuck you- Hillary champion of Isreal- Hillary 'we can't meet without preconditions' is a strong message to Iran. He said we talk with our enemies but never said he’d be nice or not tough.

Dunno about Hillary, though. What with the 8 million she feels Obama still owes her, I wouldn't all be surprised if she turns him down flat just to hand him his first big embarrassment of the transition. I wouldn't put it past her, although I certainly hope I'm wrong.

Obama doesn't owe her a penny. Her debt is her debt, and although he raised money to help her out after the end of the primaries, he's under no obligation to pay her debt off. And there's no way she'd "turn him down flat to hand him his first big embarrassment of the transition." You're still thinking in primary terms. That's over. It's ancient history now. She's a Democrat and team player and she knows the Dems are in an exceedingly strong position right now in Congress and with a big presidential win, with polls showing a huge majority of the country rallying around the new administration and expecting big things. There's no way she'll act to damage that and thus endanger her own future in the party.

Most of the leaking has been attributed to the Obama transition team. Andrea Mitchell, who first broke the story on NBC/MSNBC last evening, specifically cited two sources within the Obama camp in Chicago.

I suspect people will start to blame Clinton for a leak and say she is trying to force Obama's hand. I hope that they don't drag out that old sexist "calculating" stuff again

I can see how you might think this, but I think you're being a little paranoid. I don't see this happening at all, rather the other way around (leaks being attributed to the Obama team). Frankly, as I noted in my first post on this thread, I think if anything the leaks will be seen as either a sign of a fait accompli or as an Obama power play to make it impossible for her to refuse the offer.