Only President-elect Barack Obama knows why he selected Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state.

To hear him tell it, Obama started thinking about his team and it occurred to him that Clinton "could potentially be an outstanding secretary of state." He offered her the job, and she accepted. "I know that's not as juicy a story as you were hoping for, but that's all you are going to get."

The thinking behind the appointment will be the stuff of parlor games. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" comes to mind. Or could it be that her intellect and experience are a perfect fit for the job? Time will tell.

The $64,000 question is how will Bill Clinton handle being the spouse of the secretary of state? Can he set aside his craving for attention and adulation to give Hillary the latitude she needs to help keep peace in an increasingly complicated world?

He owes her that much. As first lady, she was humiliated by the president's extracurricular activities. He was a miserable campaigner for her when she ran for president. Some say he may have cost her the nomination.

So yeah, she's "paid forward." Somehow, former President Clinton must find other issues and interests to occupy his time. There can be no jetting off to faraway lands to broker peace as some former presidents have attempted to do on their own accord. There can be no more accepting funds from international interests. For heaven's sake, no more indiscretions.

Already, former President Clinton has agreed to disclose the names of more than 200,000 donors to his presidential foundation. Previously, he had resisted this disclosure.

He also will separate his work with the Clinton Global Initiative from his foundation work and to submit the text of future speeches and other activities to State Department officials for review.

These are necessary, albeit difficult, sacrifices for Bill Clinton. Neither Hillary Clinton nor the president-elect should have to worry about Bill Clinton glad-handing with this or that international leader. There's simply not enough oxygen in the room.

Living in the shadows has never been Bill Clinton's forte. During Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, Bill Clinton often got more press for his gaffes than his efforts on behalf of his wife. It got to the point that Hillary was better off on her own or being represented by Chelsea.

Where does Bill go from here? For now, he's saying the right things. He said in a statement that he is "deeply proud" that Obama selected Hillary to be secretary of state.