Whatever doubts may have existed about U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's foreign policy should be put to rest since he announced his national security team. The group is notable for its experience and levelheadedness. Perhaps most significant is the self-confidence the selections reveal: Mr. Obama has no qualms about including political rivals, former Cold War warriors and people with more experience than he in his administration. It is a team well-suited to tackle the security challenges of a world in transformation.

After weeks of a spectacle worthy of Shakespeare — will he offer the job? will she accept it? — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed to become secretary of state. That selection is most notable for the fact that Mrs. Clinton ran the memorable commercial during the primaries that asked how voters would feel knowing that it was Mr. Obama answering the ominous 3 a.m. phone call. Apparently, the president-elect reasoned that the best thing he could do is have her take that call.

It is a smart move. Mrs. Clinton has strong foreign policy credentials and a reputation for considered, centrist thinking. She is viewed by many as a hawk. She makes up for the shortcomings of a man she called "irresponsible and naive" during the campaign. And it may well be that bringing her into the Cabinet is one way of neutralizing a potential adversary in Congress.