With about only 60 days left until inauguration day I am becoming increasingly hopeful that Barack Obama will govern like Bill Clinton did; as quite a centrist rather than a leftist Democrat.

Not only has Obama started to surround himself by (former) Clintonistas, which is a hopeful sign indeed, it seems likely that Hillary Clinton herself will become his Secretary of State.

Clinton is much more hawkish that Obama. She is a staunch supporter of Israel, supported the war in Iraq, and seems determined not to let Iran develop nuclear weapons. Obama seems a different kind of politician himself, but it is highly unlikely that Clinton would be willing to work for an administration which she would deem overly dovish.

Then there is Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; a true, old school Republican realist. President George W. Bush chose Gates as his SecDef after the horrendous and highly authoritarian Donald Rumsfeld resigned. Unlike his predecessor, Gates was able to communicate and work well with the State department, military leaders and foreign politicians such as Nouri al-Maliki. Gen. David Petraeus is often credited with turning the tide in Iraq but Gates’ role in the process should not be ignored; he too played a major role in bringing the different factions in the Middle Eastern country together.

As if that is not enough, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to head the Department of Homeland Security. Napolitano is a Democrat, of course, but she does well with Independent and moderate voters. She is a hard worker and a pragmatist rather than an ideologue. When the illegal immigration problem became prominent Napolitano did not focus on the illegal immigrants themselves but on the institutions that allowed foreigners to move so easily into the U.S. illegally. Conservative immigration hawks may not like her too much, deeming her soft on illegal immigration, but the rest can certainly live with her.

Since Napolitano is only 50 years old, she will turn 51 November 29, she may very well be her party’s presidential frontrunner in 2016, if Barack Obama performs well as president, serves two terms and does not become an albatross around the neck of fellow Democrats like George Bush became for Republicans. She is only 50 years old, but cannot run for governor again due to term limits. She could run for Senate, by taking over Sen. John McCain’s seat in 2012 when he is expected to retire, but becoming part of Obama’s administration would make even more sense for a woman with her experience, especially if she believes that Obama will serve two terms and retire with high approval ratings.

Whatever the future holds for Napolitano one gets the impression that President Obama will govern from the center (or relatively so). And that is good news for all of us, especially for those who feared that Obama would govern like he legislated in Senate; from the far left.