Hillary Clinton supporters have yet another reason to cheer today. The appointment of Greg Craig as White House counsel adds yet another "Clintonista" to the ranks of President-elect Obama's senior advisers. First came Rahm Emanuel, the former White House advisor to Clinton between 1993 and 1998, whom Obama named as his White House chief of staff. Then came John Podesta, Bill Clinton's fourth and final White House Chief of Staff , whom Obama selected as co-chairman of his transition team. They are now joined by Mr. Craig, an assistant to President Clinton and the White House special counsel who directed the team that defended him against impeachment.
The return of the Clintonistas is reassuring not just to those Democrats who favored Senator Clinton over Senator Obama (as are rumors that she has emerged as a leading candidate for the post of Secretary of State), it should also reassure Democrats and Republicans alike who believe that in picking senior advisers, experience should trump the competing demands of party constituencies, ideological purity or personal affinity for the president.
But those energized by President-elect Obama's candidacy may understandably ask after such appointments: whatever happened to Obama's campaign slogan — "Change."