Obama taps Clinton, Gates for Cabinet

President-elect Barack Obama laughed and said today he knew reporters would "have fun" teasing him about some of the harsher criticisms Sen. Hillary Clinton uttered about him during the campaign.

But he said that he is picking her as secretary of state — and the other five members of his national security team he introduced this morning— because he wants a dynamic team around him willing to argue dissenting points of view.

"I assembled this team because I am a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions," Obama said. "I think that's how the best decisions are made. One of the dangers in the White House, based on my reading of history, is that you get wrapped up in group-think and everybody agrees with everything and there is no discussion and no dissenting views. I'm going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House.

"But understand: I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out and I expect them to implement. So, as Harry Truman said: The Buck stops with me."

Obama tapped President Bush's secretary of defense Robert Gates to stay on in the job but he said Gates will have a "new mission" to bring the troops home from Iraq.

Rounding out the national secrity team he said would usher in a "new dawn'' in American leadership were Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano for homeland security chief; former NATO Commander Gen. James L. Jones as national security advisor; Eric Holder for Attorney General; and Susan Rice for U.N. Representative.

As with just about all Obama's roll-outs so far, gender and ethnic balance was evident as his nominees stood behind him in front of the blue curtain and eight American flags at the Hilton and Towers in Chicago

Hillary Clinton's longtime friends Betsy Ebeling, Kevin O'Keefe, and J.B. Pritzker stood at the back of the room watching. They rode in with her from the airport and said she was sorry about leaving the senate but really looking foreward to the new task. Yes, they have buried the hatchet from the campaign, her friends said.

The amount of campaigning Clinton did for Obama proves the wounds are healed, Pritzker said.

O'Keefe said she is willing to carry out Obama's vision.

"He's the quarterback and she understands that," O'Keefe said.