President-elect Barack Obama formally rolled out his foreign affairs and national security team Monday in Chicago, but there were no surprises, most of the names having been leaked in advance in a trial balloon maneuver to anticipate any definitive opposition.

Nominees included Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state; Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, a Republican, to continue in that post; Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona for homeland security secretary; Eric H. Holder Jr. as attorney general; Susan E. Rice, Mr. Obama's chief foreign affairs adviser during the campaign, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a Cabinet-level post; and retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones as national security adviser. Mr. Jones' post is the only one that does not require Senate confirmation.

The polyglot nature of the group will make it even more important that Mr. Obama provide clear policy direction to his team. These are strong individuals, a good characteristic of a Cabinet, and it is important that the president delegate responsibility. They will need attention from him, however, to see that each does not succumb to the temptation to carry out his or her own policy.

It may not have been deliberate on Mr. Obama's part, but his top leadership corps is a diverse bunch: three of the nominees are women, two are African-American and one is Republican. All of them bring considerable experience.

As we said last week when the Clinton nomination appeared certain, the New York senator has much to recommend her as leader of the State Department, although it comes with some risk to the future president, given their political rivalry this year. If she works with Mr. Obama rather than separate from him, however, she will prove to have been a wise choice.

Holding over Mr. Gates is an interesting move by the president-elect. Retaining a defense secretary who has carried out the policy of an administration not eager to set a troop withdrawal timetable in Iraq as the very person to oversee that withdrawal is to give Mr. Gates a lot of credit for professionalism. Yet Mr. Gates is just that sort of professional and, as a former CIA director, is easily supple and smart enough to carry out just that maneuver with skill and aplomb.

The appointment of Mr. Jones as national security adviser harks back to the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, who both put a senior general, Brent Scowcroft, in that slot. Its primary function is to coordinate policy that involves different heavy-hitting parts of an administration, particularly the departments of defense and state, to reflect the wishes of the president. Mr. Jones is known not to be particularly political and is thus unlikely to be dominated by any one player in Mr. Obama's Cabinet.

A question worth asking about Ms. Napolitano is whether her knowledge of immigration as the governor of a border state can be carried over into the other critical security-related fields under homeland security.

Mr. Holder is already catching flak over his role in the 2001 Clinton administration pardon of Israeli-Spanish commodities trader Marc Rich in return for a large contribution to the Clinton library by his ex-wife. It would be ironic if Mr. Holder were the Obama nominee who didn't make it through confirmation because of something he had done for the Clintons, with Mrs. Clinton the likely successful nominee for secretary of state.

All in all, Mr. Obama's foreign affairs and national security team look to be very appropriate to his administration. Their broad experience, coupled with his leadership, could provide the country with very capable leadership over the next four years.