Recently, the media has got wind of the rumor that Obama has met with Hillary Clinton in order to discuss a future role for her in the United States next administration, possibly as president-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state.

Hillary Clinton is a former rival of Obama, since they were both candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election, until the party chose the latter as their presidential nominee in June this year.

At that time, the former First Lady of the nation (between 1993 and 2001, during which period her husband Bill Clinton was president of the U.S.) endorsed Barack Obama.

The two Democrats are said to have met in Chicago, Illinois, with Obama having been the one to suggest the encounter, although sources were unable to confirm that the president-elect had discussed with or offered Clinton the secretary state position.

Currently, there are several other names circulating with regards to the next secretary of state, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2004, and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

As for positions such as White House press secretary and White House senior adviser, all bets are on Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs and Obama chief strategist David Axelrod, respectively.

During a transit policy speech in Albany, New York, Hillary Clinton refused to make any comments on the matter of her being part of Obama’s administration, stating that all questions should be addressed to the president-elect’s transition team.