Goodwill Hunting

Even GOPers are saying Pres.-elect Obama has put on a masterful show in assembling and rolling out his cabinet. Today's foreign policy team sends a message of steadiness and centrism - something welcomed in a world shaken by Mumbai. But can this goodwill last?

-- The Obama folks are content w/the deal struck w/B. Clinton. But it's clear that some GOPers - including Obama ally Lugar - are less so. Just how many of those 200K names will raise eyebrows, and even more questions? And is it even possible to suggest that an ex-POTUS stay off the world stage? Even so, given the enormity of the tasks facing Obama's team, will voters have the stomach for confirmation hearings that focus on more B. Clinton's donors than on H. Clinton's views?

-- Meanwhile, anyone else notice how quiet it's been on the left? The blogosphere's been buzzing, sure, but even many lefty bloggers are giving Obama the benefit of the doubt on his security team. Other liberals like MoveOn and anti-war cong Dems have been quiet. A sign, perhaps, that they trust Obama's "vision" even as they remain skeptical about the players?

-- What happens if his vision diverges from theirs? It may give "Team Of Rivals" yet another new meaning.