Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the Clinton-for-SoS sideshow is entering its second week. This is the  Clintons after all, and this is what comes when you deal with them. But, for a candidate and a campaign team that rarely misstepped, is this one starting to get away from Obama?

I mean, is this the kind of coverage Obama wants going into his administration? From the NYT:

Washington continued to be gripped by the drama surrounding Mrs. Clinton's fate and the possibility that Mr. Obama might bring his toughest rival for the Democratic presidential nomination into his cabinet. Mr. Obama's advisers said the talks had gone well, but would not say if an agreement to avoid conflicts had been reached, as the Clinton camp has indicated.

Even if the guidelines for Mr. Clinton's future activities are on the verge of being resolved, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton must still decide if they can put the rancor of their long and bitter primary battle behind them. The two sides have a framework on “what he needs to do to satisfy the vetting concerns and that gives her an opportunity to consider the job on the merits,” said one person close to the Clintons.

Again, no doubt much of this is media-fueled. But in offering an olive-branch to the Clintons -- and leaking it to the press beforehand -- perhaps Obama helped create a drama he would rather have avoided.