But the designation of Hillary is only one part of a Cabinet Obama has assembled without any reference to the loyalty of its members to his presidency. I doubt that he carried his own Cabinet in the primaries against Hillary. He has appointed the identical government that one would have expected under a President Hillary Clinton. The only difference is that he is president.

What does this administration say about Obama? Does it, at last, offer a real clue as to who he truly is?

I believe that it reveals that he is a man who never really expected to be president and now is rather awed by what he has achieved. Here's a guy who was on a very successful book tour in late 2006 before his success at signings went to his head. As long as he seemed able to draw and dazzle crowds, he figured, why not run for president? Knowing he'd probably lose, he saw no harm in trying. Then, as his candidacy developed more momentum with each speech, he moved closer and closer to the White House. But, on arrival, he doesn't know quite what to do with the power. So he is assembling around him the permanent government of the Democratic Party in the hopes that they will know what to do.

Hillary might do well as secretary of state. She has the toughness and energy that the job requires and the single-minded dedication to achieving a goal that it demands. At last, she need not adopt a phony pose. She has a real job that she has earned on her own. She can show her real strengths of prioritization, skilled advocacy and determination.

But her appointment, and that of her cronies to most of the other top positions in the Obama government, makes it very likely that Obama will be unable to impress his own mark on his presidency. It is not just that he has appointed a "team of rivals." It is that he has hired the coach, quarterback and stars of the rival team and now hopes that they will listen to him rather than to one another.