Mrs. Clinton's and her closest advisers' turning a suggestion by the President-elect that she might, among other things, head the State Department into an "offer" and reports that she was agonizing over whether to accept it, did not please officials in Chicago, some of whom hoped that issues over disclosure of Bill Clinton's post-presidential record might block the appointment.

Let's spell this out in more clear terms. There was no offer to make Hillary Sec State. Her flunkies floated a story that there was and that she was unsure about accepting it turned it from pure fiction into a fait accompli.

She created it out of thin air, and to what end? If Obama doesn't tap her, well that's evidence that see, he really is the sexist bastard she said he was! And pumps up the Hillary fans and Obama haters. If he does pick her, that still pumps up the Hillary fans, and now also pumps up the Hillary haters to rally against Obama. Heads I win, tails he loses.

Now that may be ascribing a bit much to the Senator from New York, on the other hand, it may not.