Obama could name key team members this week

Barack Obama “will move as quickly as he can” to set up the team who will help him rule America as its first black president, his chief strategist said today.

Mr Obama’s historic victory, sealed by wins in a series of key battleground states, leaves him facing two wars, a global financial crisis and a planet in peril when he walks into the Oval Office on January 20.

But the 47-year-old Illinois senator will not wait until then to get started, with campaign aides suggesting that he will start naming key members of his first administration by the end of the week.

Mr Obama, who declared “change has come to America” and appealed to his opponents for “help” in tackling the world’s problems, has said his number one task will be to repair and stabilise the US economy.

An ambitious energy bill to reduce US dependence on fossil fuels, healthcare reform and the end of the war in Iraq will all be among his top priorities.

He is also expected to divert resources to fight the war in Afghanistan, and the UK and European governments should expect to be asked to commit further troops there, foreign policy experts said.

Britain can expect a “recalibrating” of the so-called special relationship between the UK and the US.

On his European tour earlier this year, Mr Obama made it clear that he wanted to see the relationship between the two countries made “fairer and more equal”.

He said: “We have a chance to recalibrate the relationship and for the United Kingdom to work with America as a full partner.”

A foreign policy adviser to the Obama campaign explained: “This means it is no longer that we are in the lead and everyone else follows us.”

Mr Obama has also indicated that he would be asking Britain to send some 3,000 more troops into Afghanistan.

But an Obama presidency will be one in which he delegates, rather than micro-manages, and for this he will need a strong team.

“Senator Obama has thought this through,” his chief strategist David Axelrod told MSNBC.

“I think he will move as quickly as he can, but I think he’s also going to be deliberative about it and make sure that he gets the right people in the right slots.”

Former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, long-time Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and Mr Obama’s Senate chief of staff Pete Rouse were expected to lead the transition team.

Speculation surrounds Illinois representative Rahm Emanuel as a possible chief of staff for Mr Obama.

Unnamed sources told the US television network ABC that Mr Obama offered the job to Mr Emanuel today, but the tough politician, who could antagonise Republicans, would have to leave a promising career as a leader in the US House of Representatives if he accepted.

In the Treasury, Larry Summers, former President Bill Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, and Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, have both been mentioned as possible replacements for Hank Paulson.

Current defence secretary Robert Gates could stay on as a sign of a bipartisan administration and Mr Obama’s key campaigners David Plouffe and Mr Axelrod could also expect senior roles.

Mr Obama could also turn to former Clinton administration officials for his national security adviser: Susan Rice and Greg Craig have both been mentioned.

His secretary of state, one of the most high-profile positions in his Cabinet, is expected to go to a well-known and respected figure.

John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, Connecticut senator Chris Dodd and Republican senator Richard Lugar could all be considered.

Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, former Clinton Justice Department official Eric Holder and Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick could all be possibilities for the next Attorney General.

Last night, surrounded by a sea of US flags and hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters, Mr Obama promised change and a new dawn of leadership.

Delivering his message of hope and unity, Mr Obama told those whose support he had not won: “I hear your voices. I need your help and I will be your president too.”

“The new dawn of American leadership is at hand,” he said.

“To those who would tear the world down, we will defeat you.

“To those who seek peace and security, we support you.

“And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright, tonight we’ve proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

“That’s the true genius of America.”

He went on: “The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, or even in one term but, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

“I promise you, we, as a people, will get there.”

Many in the crowd were crying and even political pundits on major US TV networks wiped tears from their eyes as the man who could transform race relations in America ascended to the highest office in the land.