No Drama Obama is way smooth

During his newser to introduce his national security team yesterday, President-elect Obama faced the inevitable question --basically how could he draft Hillary to be his SoS after their bitter back-and-forth during the bygone primary season, not to mention their different stances on the war in Iraq.

Cool as jazz, Obama was disarming in his response. He prefaced his answer by saying Clinton + Co. wouldn't be on board if they didn't share his overriding goals and a willingness to work together. Then, with palpable good humor, Obama said he understood the media's need to ask such questions -- something he didn't begrudge -- while basically dismissing the query as besides the point.

Writing on Kos, Plutonium Page heartily agrees:

Finally, someone says it.

John Isaacs, the Executive Director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, has written a great piece about how much Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton agree on many critical defense and foreign policy issues.

His point about the media is absolutely dead-on correct. The traditional media (and many blogs) put their manufactured drama over substance:

President-elect Barack Obama announced today that he will nominate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to be Secretary of State. Selecting a former rival for the most prestigious of cabinet positions has unleashed a torrent of media coverage, most of which has focused on grossly exaggerated disagreements during the presidential campaign and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering.

This reporting misses the point. As Lt. General Robert Gard, chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, wrote recently, "It’s not Hillary, it’s the policy stupid!" Reporters tend to exaggerate conflict because it makes for more interesting copy. The fact is, however, that when it comes to foreign policy, Obama and Clinton agree far more than they disagree.