Obama met with Richardson late Friday afternoon, a day after conferring one-on-one with Clinton at his Chicago office, the officials said. He plans to meet there Monday with his Republican opponent, John McCain, but advisers to both of the general election candidates say they don't expect Obama to consider McCain for an administration job.
The meeting with Clinton excited a burst of speculation that Obama would transform the former first lady and fierce campaign foe into one of his top Cabinet officials and the nation's chief diplomatic voice. But where the New York senator stands in contention for the post came into question as other Democrats, also speaking on condition of anonymity about the private discussions, said Richardson was brought in as well.
It's far from clear how interested Clinton would be in the secretary of state job. She would face a Senate confirmation hearing that would certainly probe her husband's financial dealings
- something the Clintons refused to disclose in the presidential campaign.
But remaining in the Senate may not be Clinton's first choice, either, since she is a junior senator without prospects for a leadership position or committee chairmanship anytime soon.
Being secretary of state could give Clinton a platform for another run at the presidency in eight years. Obama could also get assurances from her that she wouldn't challenge him in four years.
Richardson is the governor of New Mexico and has an extensive foreign policy resume. He was President Bill Clinton's ambassador to the United Nations and has conducted freelance diplomacy for the U.S. in such hot spots as Sudan and North Korea.
The two are not the only candidates Obama has talked to about the job, Democrats said. One senior Obama adviser said the president-elect has given no evidence whom he is favoring for the post. Obama asked Clinton directly whether she would be interested in the job, said one Democrat, who cautioned that it was no indication that he was leaning toward her.
Obama was deciding on his presidential staff as well, naming longtime friend Valerie Jarrett as a White House senior adviser. Jarrett met Obama when she hired his wife for a job in the Chicago mayor's office years ago and has been close to the couple since.
