A poll shows 71 percent of Americans approve of Barack Obama picking Hillary Clinton for secretary of state.

What's made up of five women, four African-Americans, three Latinos, two Republicans and two Asians, including a Nobel Prize winner?

The answer: President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet.

Obama is taking the big-tent approach to governing and wanted a Cabinet that stretches the tent wide.

"I think people will feel that we followed through on our commitment to make sure that this is not only an administration that is diverse ethnically, but it's also diverse politically and it's diverse in terms of people's life experience," Obama said December 16.

It might be diverse, but not everyone is happy. Some women's groups are disappointed. Among Obama's strongest backers during the election, they now say they don't have enough seats at the table.

That's because of Obama's 20 announced Cabinet-level posts, five went to women: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary, Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, Rep. Hilda Solis as labor secretary, Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador and Lisa Jackson as Environmental Protection Agency chief. Video Watch more on what it takes to get a job with the Obama administration »

"When you are looking at a Cabinet and you have such a small number of women in the room when the big decisions are being made, there need to be a lot more women's voices in this administration," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women.

Bill Clinton and President Bush each had a comparable number of women in their first Cabinets, but women's groups say they hoped they'd make progress. read more

President-elect Barack Obama continued to fill out his cabinet today, naming Sen. Hillary Clinton his Secretary of State and retaining Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Send your questions about the appointments to military affairs analyst William Arkin, who was online Monday, Dec. 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

A transcript follows.

William Arkin, a former Army intelligence analyst and consultant, has written extensively about military affairs, including several books on the topic. He's been a long-time contributor to the washingtonpost.com, and he is one of the moderator's of the Planet War discussion group.

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William Arkin: Hello all. So it's Jones, Clinton, and Gates, a pick probably comforting to Washington insiders but puzzling to the people who voted for Obama. I suppose the big question will be whether or not this fancy dance will pay off. One, by allowing Obama to focus on the economy and "neutralize" national security; and two, by allowing a new national security policy to develop under capable hands. Gates and Jones certainly fit the latter description; I think Clinton's appointment is a bit of a gimmick. We'll see whether the President will be happy sharing the stage with the second couple, and whether the former First Lady has a clue about foreign policy.

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Washington, D.C.: Have they announced the deputies for the big national security appointments announced today? I'd heard that Donilon was going to be Jones' deputy; Steinberg Clinton's; and maybe Danzig Gates'. But I haven't heard anything today. Do we know yet?

William Arkin: No deputies were formally announced but it appears that Richard Danzig is headed for the Pentagon and Steinberg is indeed head for State. I imagine that the Obama "camp" must be demoralized -- first for siding with Obama from the beginning and second for being dissed as not be good enough or enough of a celebrity to be on the A Team. Susan Rice, Obama's loyal advisor, looked tired and over-shadowed in today's announcement. I would have preferred to see her at the NSC. read more

Obama's Advisers

President-elect Barack Obama, unveiling his national-security team, said he will use the "power of our moral example" in making a clean break from Bush administration policies on Iraq, Afghanistan and overseas diplomacy.

Mr. Obama gave a prominent place during the presentation to his nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Clinton. She stood next to Mr. Obama, was the first of the nominees to speak and received the lengthiest introduction from the president-elect.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Obama said he would devote new energy to diplomacy and other nonmilitary aspects of U.S. global power.

"The national-security challenges we face are just as grave and just as urgent as our economic crisis," he said. "To succeed, we must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy; our intelligence and law enforcement; our economy and the power of our moral example."

Sen. Clinton echoed the theme, saying U.S. interests "cannot be protected and advanced by force alone." Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, who was named national-security adviser, stressed that the U.S. would need to use "all elements of our national power and influence." read more