The fact is that Obama humiliated the Clintons at their own best game and in so doing made two powerful enemies who would relish a serious stumble by the uppity junior Senator from Chicago. You can bet that Hilary still lusts after the Oval Office and would sell her soul to the devil for another shot at nomination and election. By accepting Obama’s offer she has ensured that her political profile will remain prominent for the next four and possibly eight years, and all she has to do is to acknowledge that Obama ultimately has the last word on foreign policy. She will not be too old in four or eight years’ time to hope to become the first woman president to lead the United States provided the times them suit her.

Obama meanwhile has removed a possible (probable) source of carping if covert criticism from from two powerful Democrat activists who still have a solid following among the party faithful. That’s good for Obama, although he might sometimes shudder at the prospect of Bill Clinton emerging as the grey eminence behind the arras in Hillary’s State Department office.

Clinton’s foreign policy record was patchy although not nearly as disastrous as that of George W. Bush. So it’s what the Americans call a plus-sum game all round. Obama gets peace; Hilary gets profile. The main requirements for a workable union now are that Obama gets across the complexities of foreign policy quickly and asserts his authority over it and that Hilary restrains her natural inclination to act first, second and third in her own perceived interests. It’s really just about them learning to be the best of enemies.

Geoffrey Barker is a Visiting Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University.