The Waiting Game

President-elect Barack Obama is pulling the petals off of the flower as I type this: she loves me...she loves me not. Will she or won't she? Oh, the waiting game.

For about a week White House observers, pundits, and regular Joe Sixpacks all across the land have been wondering if Senator Hillary Clinton will be the nation's next Secretary of State. Since Mr. Obama reportedly offered the Senator the plum cabinet position in his administration, Senator Clinton seems not to have gotten past the "let me think about it" stage.

There are of course complications. President Bill Clinton's reluctance of publicly revealing donors to his foundation is perhaps the biggest obstacle. There is also the not-so-minor problem that many of the principal supporters of both Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama may not be as ready to forgive each other after a particularly bruising primary campaign--and this latest drama has opened old wounds.

My guess is that the waiting will not--cannot--continue. I don't see this dragging out past the weekend. The Secretary of State position is one of the, if not the, crown jewels of all administration posts. Once that position is filled, many others, including most of the top national security positions including national security adviser, will be filled quickly. Until then, all we can do is wait.