She was the chief rival in his first-term team of rivals Cabinet.
But on Sunday, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton served as President Obamas chief cheerleader and the feeling for a half-hour of prime-time television was gushingly mutual.
The two smiled, bantered and chuckled like chums throughout their appearance on CBSs 60 Minutes, the first time Obama has been interviewed as president with a person other than his wife.
It was a performance, tracing with little turbulence the course of their relationship, by a pair of all-pro politicians whose public lives and future legacies are entwined. The message: This all worked out well, dont you think?