Reprieve for Obama aide who branded Clinton 'a monster'

Published on Friday 28 November 2008 23:59

A FORMER adviser to Barack Obama who was forced to quit after branding Hillary Clinton a "monster" has been drafted in to help pave the way for the New York senator's expected appointment as the United States secretary of state.

Samantha Power resigned in the wake of uproar over an interview she gave The Scotsman during a tour of the UK and Ireland to promote her book. But she has now been named as a member of the transition team for the agency Mrs Clinton is expected to lead once Mr Obama is officially confirmed as president.

Mrs Clinton's office last night declined to comment on Ms Power's inclusion on the list, but an official close to the Obama transition team said his former aide had "made a gesture to bury the hatchet" and it had been well received.

Mrs Clinton's role at the state department is expected to be announced after the weekend.

Ms Power's apparent rehabilitation is being seen by US political experts as another sign of that impending move.

Ms Power – a Harvard professor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and noted commentator on genocide – is dealing with global humanitarian issues as part of the team, according to officials.

In an unguarded moment during her interview with The Scotsman in March, Ms Power said of Mrs Clinton: "She is a monster, too. She is stooping to anything."

She tried to withdraw her remark and later said it was a "lapse of judgment" after an extended period without sleep and a transatlantic flight.

At the time, Mrs Clinton's campaign team seized on the remark, sending an e-mail to supporters telling them about the "monster" comment and asking for contributions to "show the Obama campaign that there is a price to this kind of attack politics".