HILLARY Clinton has emerged as a contender for the post of secretary of state following a private meeting with Barack Obama at the president-elect's transition headquarters in Chicago.
At a conference on transport policy in Albany yesterday, the former first lady declined to speculate on the rumours.
"I'm very happy there is so much press attention and interest in transit," she said.
"On the off chance that you're not here for this important issue and are here for some other reason, let me just say that I'm not going to speculate or address anything about the president-elect's incoming administration. I'm going to respect his process and any inquiries should be directed to his transition team."
Mr Obama's team declined to comment on the speculation but Democratic sources confirmed that Ms Clinton is in the running for a place in the administration, if she is interested in serving.
The president-elect has filled his transition team with veterans from President Bill Clinton's administration, and inviting his former rival into the cabinet would be a powerful signal of Mr Obama's determination to heal any remaining rifts within the Democratic Party. Politicians on both sides of the political divide yesterday praised the former first lady, with Republican senator Lindsay Graham declaring that she would be confirmed as secretary of state by the Senate without difficulty. "She wouldn't be a bad choice at all. If she were chosen, she has the portfolio and the skills that would make her uniquely qualified for the job," he said.
New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, who has been tipped as a possible treasury secretary, said Mrs Clinton would be an excellent choice to head the US diplomatic service. "She probably knows every major foreign leader. There's already a relationship where she can sit and talk directly about the problems that exist either on a bilateral or multilateral basis," he said.
Some of Mrs Clinton's supporters believe she could challenge Mr Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2012 if the new president's first term is not a success. Becoming secretary of state would link their political fortunes but it would give Mrs Clinton executive experience and provide her with a high profile over the next four years.
As secretary of state, she stands to benefit from the international goodwill that has greeted Mr Obama's election and the post would insulate her from association with unpopular domestic policies. As the spouse of the secretary of state, Mr Clinton would be required to disclose any foreign business interests and perhaps to reveal the names of donors to his foundation, something he has until now resisted.
Mr Obama has asked all potential cabinet members to complete a 63-part questionnaire in addition to FBI background checks. The questionnaire includes a request to identify any financial records that the candidate or spouse "will not release publicly if necessary", and to "state the reasons for withholding them". Candidates must also disclose any e-mail, text message, instant message or diary entry that could "suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family or the president-elect if it were made public".
Former urban guerrilla William Ayers yesterday described attempts to damage Mr Obama during the campaign by playing up their association were part of "a profoundly dishonest narrative."
Mr Ayers, now a professor, said that, although he knew the president-elect, they were not close.
"I knew Barack Obama, absolutely. And I knew him probably as well as thousands of other Chicagoans," he said. "And like millions of other people worldwide, I wish I knew him better right now."