President-Elect Barack Obama announced his national security team at a press conference this morning. There were no surprises, as the media has been reporting and discussing these picks for weeks.

Secretary of State: Sen. Hillary Clinton
Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates
Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano
National Security Advisor: Gen. James L. Jones
Attorney General: Eric Holder Jr.
Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice

Two on this team stick out.

I’m very please to see Hillary Clinton has accepted Obama’s offer to serve as Secretary of States in his administration. Her acceptance is a very powerful show of unity, and is evidence of her trust in Obama’s judgement. Consider this: Would Clinton have signed on to serve a president who she felt would make critical errors in foreign policy? I think not. We all know that it’s often the Secretary of State who is the face of foreign policy, good and bad. Clinton is placing her political future in Obama’s hands. This is a very good sign for our nation.

Keeping Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense is an excellent move. Gates has proven to be a moderate voice and a pragmatic leader. While he has expressed some disagreement with Obama’s proposals concerning the War in Iraq, I also think he is well suited to serve the interests of the nation under the direction of Obama to bring our troops home.

Obama promised to build a diverse administration that would include friends, foes, and bipartisanship. His picks for his national security team demonstrates his commitment to fulfilling this promise.

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