VZCZCXYZ0007
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #0641 3371806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 021806Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8749
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 9903
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8932
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 3216

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000641 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD 
 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD XM XR BR
SUBJECT: Hillary Clinton and the new US National Security Team - Sao 
Paulo Media Reaction 
 
Title - Assembling Obama's Administration 
 
Editorial in center-right O Estado de S.Paulo (12/2) says: 
"President-elect Barack Obama has finished assembling the core of 
his administration, after announcing the nomination of Hillary 
Clinton to be Secretary of State.... The timing and the choice of 
the names were dictated both by an emergency and by a political 
limitation...the determining factor...is Obama's condition of being 
newly-arrived in Washington.... Now, the question that will follow 
him to the White House is whether his individual resources of 
power-charisma and awakening the world's hope, his statesman-like 
stature and his amazing ability to mobilize public opinion-will be 
enough to assert himself before a cabinet filled with big-egos and 
stars who are not only ready to be rivals among themselves, but to 
act as if they had ample powers." 
 
Title- Obama Changes, To the past. 
 
Article by columnist Clovis Rossi in liberal Folha de S.Paulo (12/5) 
states: "President-elect Barack Obama's nominations in the areas of 
foreign relations, defense and security...seem to clearly define 
what the word 'change' meant to him: going back to the past, more 
specifically to the Clinton era.... Obama, obviously, has to please 
Americans above anyone else.... Expecting that 'change' meant 
'revolution' could only occur to those of us who live in countries 
without a long history of wide success.  In favor of Hillary Rodham 
Clinton, she is the author of a bill to close Guantanamo's 
concentration camp (along with Senator Dianne Feinstein) and, if she 
implements it while in power, it will be a positive change to the 
past, rescuing values that make up the history of success of the 
USA." 
White