UPDATE 11/13: The Washington Independent reports that Napolitano hasn't ruled out the AG spot:
After Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, widely rumored to be the front-runner for the Attorney General post in President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet, spoke at a Subcommittee on Health hearing this morning, I asked her if she was committed to serving out her term as governor, which ends in 2010, or if she would consider a cabinet appointment.
She responded haltingly:
You know, right now, I have a great job, and that's -- I'm not looking for a new job, and that's as far as I go.
Not exactly a decisive response, but also not a denial.
The Arizona Republic speculates:
Barack Obama's victory Tuesday will have immediate and far-reaching effects on Arizona if he taps Gov. Janet Napolitano for his Cabinet.
Napolitano, a two-term Democrat, is an oft-mentioned contender to join the Obama administration. If it happened, she would surrender her last two years in office to Secretary of State Jan Brewer, a Republican next in line for the governorship.
So, is Napolitano bound for Washington, D.C.?
That's hard to say, in large measure because she has been mum on the topic. Napolitano has been a loyal Obama supporter, endorsing him before he was the Democratic front-runner and later becoming one of his busiest surrogates on the campaign trail.
Her credentials as a border-state governor, former Arizona attorney general and U.S. attorney appear well-suited for the role of U.S. attorney general or secretary of Homeland Security, two positions with which Napolitano's name is most frequently linked in published reports. In January, Obama called her "enormously talented," and added, "I think anyone would be happy to have her working for them."
Reports say Napolitano is the favorite for the post. She is already a member of Obama's transition team.