VICE PRESIDENT HILARY CLINTON?

Yesterday Oprah Winfrey - following in the sly gotcha-journalism footsteps of Katie "Velvet Fist" Couric - exposed a shocking secret in O's interview of Dr. Jill Biden, wife of new Veep Joe Biden. "Joe Biden had been offered a choice of positions in the new Obama Administration: either Vice President or Secretary of State." Whoa!

Joe quickly tried to shush her up, but it was too late. Now the secret is out.

So Joe could have had Hilary's new job. But think about it. What if he had wanted that job?

It makes sense to me that Obama picked Biden first. Obama was expecting that the main campaign against him would highlight his relative lack of experience in Washington. Although he had spent eight years in the Illinois state senate, he had only been elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. Joe Biden had already been there for 32 years when Barack arrived.

What about Hilary? First elected to the Senate in 2000, she was the junior senator from New York, not as experienced in government as she portrayed herself. And having been demonized for so many years by the right wing, she would face her own questions - unfair and biased questions, to be sure - about her own readiness to lead.

I think Biden was a good choice. No one ever questioned that he would be ready to serve as President if needed. (By the way, Sarah, that's what the Vice President's job is. He's not "in charge of the U.S. Senate". He or she is supposed to be ready to serve as President. Give Colin Powell a call; he'll explain it to you.)

I think things worked out really well. Joe Biden, as Vice President, will return to the Senate chambers, working with his friends and colleagues to achieve the goals of the new Administration. Hilary Clinton will be a dedicated and energetic Secretary of State, working to bring peace to the Middle East, holding the respect of both Israelis and Arabs, resurrecting a peace process started by President Clinton and abandoned by the neocon warmongers.

But what if Joe had wanted to be Secretary of State?

It seems clear from his later actions that Barack Obama tries to reach out to political opponents, and to build unity and consensus wherever possible.

It seems clear that there was a time when Obama was reaching out to his rivals for the Democratic nomination in the same way.

He offered the positions of Vice President and Secretary of State to Joe Biden. Joe decided to stay in Washington and on the Senate floor as Vice President.

He then offered the position of Secretary of State to Hilary Clinton. It seems clear that she was next on his list after Biden.

If Joe had wanted to be Secretary of State, would Obama have offered the Vice Presidency to Hilary Clinton? We can only speculate, but it certainly does make sense.

Vice President Hilary Clinton?

I really think it worked out better this way.

I hope that everything the Obama Administration attempts works out as well.

Our nation and the world could use a change for the better right now.