Obama sending emissaires to summit

Declaring that there's one president at a time, President-elect Barack Obama isn't attending this weekend's major economic summit so as not to send mixed messages to foreign leaders.

But his office announced today that he will send two emissaries to consult with delegations from other nations.

One is former Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican who represented Iowa for 30 years and served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired the Banking and Financial Services Committee, the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

The other is former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who also served as US ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration.

Obama's office said they will be available to meet unofficially with delegations at the G-20 summit on behalf of Obama.

“This weekend's summit is an important opportunity to hear from the leaders of many of the world's largest economies. President Bush should be commended for calling the summit. There is one president at a time in the United States, so the president-elect has asked Secretary Albright and Congressman Leach, an experienced and bipartisan team, to be available meet with and listen to our friends and allies on his behalf,” Obama senior foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said in a statement.