This morning, Obama held a press conference to announce his national security team. There were no surprises: Hillary Clinton will be Secretary of State and Bob Gates will stay on as Secretary of Defense. He also announced that Eric Holder will be his nominee for Attorney General, AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano will be his nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, Susan Rice will be our UN Ambassador, and General Jim Jones will be his National Security Adviser.

OK, I’ve been waiting to talk about these appointments for a long time. I refuse to post about Obama’s cabinet appointments until he announces them. (Ned, though, has already laid out his thoughts on Clinton and Gates). In short, I’m with Ned on Gates and against him on Hillary.

I think Gates is a smart choice. Both he and Obama want to send troops to Afghanistan and close Guantanamo. He is popular among Republicans and will boost Obama’s popularity among more hawkish military leaders. Most importantly, concerns about Gates’ desire to stay in Iraq are, I think, overblown. Obama made this explicit today in his press conference. He said:

As I said throughout the campaign, I will be giving Secretary Gates and our military a new mission as soon as I take office: responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control.

Obama is making clear that he is the commander in chief, not Bob Gates or General Petraeus or anyone else. He will be calling the shots.

Which is why I am also OK with Hillary becoming Secretary of State. She is popular around the world and certainly smart and talented enough to handle the job. I think Ned’s concern about the Clinton Global Initiative is understandable, but unnecessary. Obama’s vetting of Bill was an important aspect of Hillary’s vetting, and Obama’s team no doubt weighed the potential conflicts of interest against the goodwill felt towards the Clintons. And, remember, Clinton isn’t some rogue agent trekking around the globe passing back door deals for donations to the CGI. She’s Obama’s Secretary of State – she reports to him. Please, blogosphere, let’s not assume the worst in everyone.

I have been extremely impressed with Obama’s transition process and appointments thus far, I hope he stays on this positive path. I’ll leave you with the best passage from his speech today. It reminds me why I voted for him:

And so, in this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning – a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges. We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships. We will show the world once more that America is relentless in defense of our people, steady in advancing our interests, and committed to the ideals that shine as a beacon to the world: democracy and justice; opportunity and unyielding hope – because American values are America’s greatest export to the world.