The NYT has an interesting take. The bottom line is that she has been a remarkably good solider for her former arch-rival. Some of the piece echoed themes that I wrote about a couple of months ago, including the challenge to Hillary's managerial abilities and her role at a State Department stocked with high-profile envoys. But this bit jumped out at me:
There are other vestiges of Mrs. Clinton’s political life: her Senate campaign committee remains in existence and will hold on to a list of donors to herpresidential campaign, a tantalizing clue that she contemplates a use for them in the future.
The Times also reflects some of the recent buzz--which Joe Klein calls overblown--about NSC advisor Jim Jones' apparent struggle to adjust to his new job.
But people in her circle say less-than-generous things about Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, suggesting there is some jockeying among the top officials around the president. General Jones, these people say, has struggled with his transition from Marine commander to senior staff person, speaking up less in debates than Mrs. Clinton and not pushing as hard for decisions.
The sourcing here is interesting. I have gotten the sense that Hillary's allies feel a bit threatened by Jones' open talk about the NSC's expanding portfolio and power--perhaps because there is often a sense of a zero-sum power game between secretaries of state and national security advisors. It may be that Hillary's people are pushing back to protect her turf. But it's still a little unclear. What matters, though, is whether the Obama White House makes good foreign policy, and that largely remains to be seen. From Iran to Iraq to AfPak, the biggest tests are yet to come.
--Michael Crowley