Clinton Brings Star Power To State

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Obama Administration
Posted on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 02:34:24 PM EST
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It seems apparent that one of the reasons President Obama chose Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State in his Administration was her star power. If this was one of his calculations, it seems to be working:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton electrified a group of young European government workers and activists Friday in an hour-long town-hall-style meeting in which she promised more cooperation with Europe and voiced regret at Bush administration positions on climate change and other issues.

. . . Her appearance before an enthusiastic crowd that spilled out of the auditorium and gave her two standing ovations resembled an event from her presidential campaign, only she was there as a representative of the Obama administration. And she delivered one of its early diplomatic themes: Things between the U.S. and Europe are going to be different.

Of course the President himself is the biggest political star in the world, but his Secretary of State clearly has some wattage of her own.

Speaking for me only

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Clinton Brings Star Power To State | 53 comments (53 topical)

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Shes excellent for this job (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by SOS on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 02:43:02 PM EST

And the good news is she'll be employed for another week.

WASHINGTON - With a $410 billion catchall spending bill stalled in the Senate and a midnight deadline looming, Congress rushed through stopgap legislation Friday to keep the government running for another five days.

Frank Sinatra said it all.... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by NYShooter on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 02:48:05 PM EST

New York..........

"If you can make it there
You can make it anywhere."

: And Liza ... with a "Z" (none / 0) (#37)
by oldpro on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 05:34:18 PM EST

Just spent... (5.00 / 2) (#36)
by dws3665 on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 05:04:11 PM EST

2 days attending a conference at State, and it would be an understatement to say that the staff there is energized and pleased with their new Secretary.

With or without teleprompters? (5.00 / 1) (#38)
by oldpro on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 05:44:31 PM EST

Too many folks misunderestimate the Clintons, who...not being perfect...make mistakes and rise above them.

Such a reception is heartening for us all.

: She's not perfect??? (none / 0) (#47)
by NYShooter on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 10:17:01 PM EST

Oy Gevalt! Now you tell me.
lol

She is certainly one (5.00 / 2) (#43)
by JThomas on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 07:13:42 PM EST

of the Presidents best picks,imo,for his cabinet.
She is a self-starter who needs no hand-holding in performing her job. We need someone like Hillary Clinton out there representing us right now at a time we need to break down barriers and come together to solve the world financial crisis. Bravo,Secretary Clinton.

: Well said (none / 0) (#44)
by nycstray on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 08:46:33 PM EST

The Liberator. (5.00 / 1) (#46)
by Sweet Sue on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 10:16:59 PM EST

Wherever she goes, Madame Secretary is being greeted like De Gaulle entering Paris.
That's good for us. Vive La Hillary!

: Coulda fooled me... (none / 0) (#52)
by kdog on Sat Mar 07, 2009 at 08:40:36 AM EST

just another tyrant where I'm sitting...then again I'm part of an american population in need of some liberation.

In addition, (none / 0) (#3)
by dualdiagnosis on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 03:49:36 PM EST

her gift giving abilities match those of the Obama's.

Clinton gift gaffe to Russia: 'Overcharge'...

To my special friend Gordon, 25 DVDs: Obama gives Brown a set of classic movies. Let's hope he likes the Wizard of Oz

Imagine (none / 0) (#4)
by bocajeff on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 03:59:07 PM EST

Could you imagine what the outcry would have been if the doofus Bush would have made this gaffe?

I've got one question: Can we do anything right anymore?


I'm sure the outcry is in it's infancy (5.00 / 0) (#5)
by nycstray on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:00:39 PM EST

after all, Hillary did it . . .


Apart From Clinton as SoS (5.00 / 2) (#8)
by daring grace on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:06:58 PM EST

when this happened, I found myself despairing:

Shouldn't we have career people in the state department who are fluent in Russian?

I know the Cold War is supposedly over, but aren't there any of those oldtimers still on the payroll?


I suspect Ms. Power. (5.00 / 4) (#16)
by oculus on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:22:17 PM EST

: Heh (5.00 / 2) (#20)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:23:28 PM EST

Well (none / 0) (#19)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:23:20 PM EST

Yes. But mistakes happen. This was not exactly an important one.


: Indeed (none / 0) (#32)
by daring grace on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:53:26 PM EST

To be honest, the only thing sillier to me than the image of this button, wrongly worded or not, is that now another button, correctly translated (one can only hope) will be produced.

I seem to recall (none / 0) (#29)
by Steve M on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:41:40 PM EST

that our previous SoS, the name escapes me at the moment, was quite the expert on Russia!


: Yeah (none / 0) (#31)
by squeaky on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:46:57 PM EST

She played Shostakovich.

No need to imagine (5.00 / 2) (#17)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:22:30 PM EST

Since Bush gave us reason to cringe on a fairly regular basis.

Sounds like the Russian minister had a good laugh about it with Clinton.

The unfortunate thing is Bush's gaffes were nothing compared to his actual governance - the worst President in history.

And the elogies to his incompetence from Republicans were something to behold.


Maybe, or maybe not. (none / 0) (#7)
by KeysDan on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:05:44 PM EST

After eight years of President Bush, most everyone, here and abroad, became immune to "Bush gaffes". They just became a funny great presidential moments routine of David Letterman.


Huh? (none / 0) (#9)
by squeaky on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:08:08 PM EST

Outcry? More like "here he goes again". THe volume of Bush's gaffes on a regular basis made them to be expected. You hypothetical is nuts, a yawn and giggle not necessarily in that order would about it. What else would we expect from a "dufus" as you so succinctly put it.


If Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (none / 0) (#41)
by Inspector Gadget on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 06:15:57 PM EST

took it with humor, why in heaven's name would you ever demand there be an outrage started over something like this? Don't we have enough legitimate reasons to be outraged right now?

His laughter looked very sincere.


Take it from a fellow Russian, (none / 0) (#45)
by NYShooter on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 10:11:12 PM EST

it was sincere, and Hillary, in a strangely iconoclastic and endearing way, benefitted from the exchange.


Had to be her laugh ;) (none / 0) (#48)
by nycstray on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 10:39:31 PM EST

Do you speak Russian? I noticed on the local news when they showed the exchange that the words seemed very similar. They pronounced both during the piece and if I hadn't been looking at the screen and seen the difference, I don't know if I would have gotten the translation right if I had passed it on and then someone brought it back to me for approval a few days later. I don't work in the Sate Dept though, lol!~ hopefully their translation efforts will be improved in the future ;)


: Speak Russian? (5.00 / 2) (#50)
by NYShooter on Sat Mar 07, 2009 at 01:16:08 AM EST

Regrettably, no, not any more.
When we immigrated to NYC in the 50's, my mother, who had lost her entire family in The War, was a Russian Nationalist, and a realist. Upon coming here, literally penniless, she embraced her new reality, and her nationalism transferred, heart and soul, to America; my brother and I were forbidden to speak Russian, until we could speak English fluently....... and without an accent. (Also, being a skinny little Russian kid during the height of the Cold War wasn't something I wanted to shine a light on.).....lol
One of the reasons I have an affinity for the Clintons is that (like my parents) they've shown the same kind of laser-like drive and determination, in spite of a lifetime of adversity, to reach incredibly, laudable goals.
You will find that Native Russians, having lost so many millions of their citizens during the 20th. Century to wars, and other brutalities, have a sixth sense for people who are "real" The guttural good humor she displayed on making that flub needed no explanation. She, and the foreign minister, "bonded" at that moment.
I hope you'll pardon me, but I believe Sergei Lavrov "looked into her soul," and liked what he saw.

: Did the State Dept. rely on (none / 0) (#49)
by oculus on Sat Mar 07, 2009 at 01:07:04 AM EST

Babelfish?

State Department Russian translators made (none / 0) (#53)
by No Blood for Hubris on Sat Mar 07, 2009 at 09:29:20 PM EST

the gaffe, actually, did they not?

Big exodus of top-notch Foreign Service pros during the Bush years. With luck, Clinton will be able to reverse the brain drain, and technical gaffes are likely to diminish accordingly.

Of course, that's no reason not to take any and every opportunity to exhibit symptoms of CDS, is it?


How about this one (none / 0) (#6)
by dualdiagnosis on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:05:39 PM EST

A veteran politician, Clinton compared the complex European political environment to that of the two-party U.S. system, before adding:

"I have never understood multiparty democracy.

"It is hard enough with two parties to come to any resolution, and I say this very respectfully, because I feel the same way about our own democracy, which has been around a lot longer than European democracy."

The remark provoked much headshaking in the parliament of a bloc that likes to trace back its democratic tradition thousands of years to the days of classical Greece.

It's interesting (5.00 / 2) (#11)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:12:38 PM EST

And I wonder that a Republican would be upset by that statement (I think she meant the European Parliament).

Of course, modern European democracies do not predate the United States, though I suppose Ancient Athens predates them all, and Athens is in Greece, which is in Europe.

It is worth remembering that the French Revolution began in 1789, 2 years after the ratification of the Constitution (and 6 years after the forming of the Articles of Confederation.)


You could make the argument (none / 0) (#10)
by andgarden on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:10:23 PM EST

that modern democratic institutions in the United States and Western Europe developed in parallel. Claiming classical Greece is a little tenuous IMO.


Yes (5.00 / 2) (#12)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:13:47 PM EST

The gasps seem misplaced.

But you should not you are responding to a rabid Republican here, see his comment in the Siegelman thread.


I might have raised my eyebrows (none / 0) (#13)
by andgarden on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:18:08 PM EST

but I don't think anyone would claim that Hillary believes the literal meaning of the quote.


I think she was referring to the EU itself (none / 0) (#15)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:20:07 PM EST

personally.

But it certainly was not a well turned phrase.

But it seems to me unlikely to be much of a concern except for some retrograde Republicans.


I think the EU still needs to figure out (5.00 / 1) (#21)
by andgarden on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:24:15 PM EST

exactly what it wants to be. This recession, along with Hooverite Germans, will test it.


Well (none / 0) (#24)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:27:05 PM EST

for all the nice talk from Gordon Brown, Germany's stimulus is actually larger as a percentage of its GDP than the UK's.


The ECB is still demanding (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by andgarden on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:28:15 PM EST

balanced budgets from members. The French and British are not responsible for that.


: Fair point (5.00 / 1) (#28)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:31:26 PM EST

Of course (none / 0) (#51)
by NYShooter on Sat Mar 07, 2009 at 01:24:42 AM EST

"she was referring to the EU itself," unless one believes she's stupid,which I don't think anyone does.

And yes, "it certainly was not a well turned phrase." It was one of those where after one says such a thing, one scratches his/her head, thinking "jeeez, that didn't come out quite the way I meant it."


It is also worht noting (none / 0) (#14)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:18:51 PM EST

that the quote "The remark provoked much headshaking in the parliament of a bloc that likes to trace back its democratic tradition thousands of years to the days of classical Greece." is form the reporter, not any particular European politician.

I wonder what is meant by "bloc" anyway? Greece was not a member of the EEC until the early 1980s.

And the EU itself was not formed until 1993.

England of course has a beef, as there was a form of elected English Parliament since the 1600s.


You're a Euroskeptic? ;-) (none / 0) (#18)
by andgarden on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:22:34 PM EST

I am an EU realist (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:25:42 PM EST

It is clear how limited it is now in the face of this economic catastrophe.

We need massive stimulus from Europe and there is no common central government to provide that. So we get weak tea from the UK, a bit stronger tea from Germany and France but basically inadequate stuff.

Europe is dropping the ball on stimulus.


It's Germany (none / 0) (#23)
by andgarden on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:26:29 PM EST

Well (none / 0) (#25)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:28:00 PM EST

Not entirely. As I noted in another comment, none of the EU is stepping up here - and Spain is falling off a cliff.


: Central europe and the Baltics (none / 0) (#27)
by andgarden on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:29:00 PM EST

have it bad too.

I am pretty sure (none / 0) (#30)
by Steve M on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:46:52 PM EST

that WHRM was the EU, the collective European democracy, as opposed to "the concept of democracy somewhere in Europe." But it was a clumsy statement.


This is beautiful (none / 0) (#33)
by maddog on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 04:53:50 PM EST

The gaffes weren't that bad. Everyone laughed it off. What are we down at the local pub. This is international relationships here.

How about I say George Bush didn't mean half the things he said the way he said them.

Does that now excuse them. Let's do a rewind here because if that how it was suppose to be interpreted this guy could be the greatest president ever.

Now back to reality. Wasn't this administration suppose to be so much better than the Bush administration? More serious, more mature. Haven't seen any of that yet.

Well Of Course (5.00 / 1) (#34)
by squeaky on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 05:00:52 PM EST

You would not see it considering South Park is your frame of reference.


: Name the seriousness (5.00 / 0) (#39)
by maddog on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 05:47:40 PM EST

Like when he said I won! Is that what you were talking about.
When you've got nothing you come back with nothing.

Are you saying that Bush (none / 0) (#40)
by Inspector Gadget on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 06:11:45 PM EST

didn't get away with his gaffes? I think he did. Every. Last. One.

There may have been more press, but there was no more outrage. Did you miss the primary season when HRC couldn't say "good morning" without the outrage that she had hidden threats in that.


: "hidden" threats!?!?!?! (5.00 / 2) (#42)
by dws3665 on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 06:16:07 PM EST

Clearly her "good morning" was an implied desire for the assassination of night! Only an incredible day-ist could possibly miss this!!!eleventy!11!

I Felt Tepid About HRC as Veep (none / 0) (#35)
by daring grace on Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 05:01:59 PM EST

It would have been okay with me had she been Vice President, but it seemed a poor fit--maybe because of her own 'star power'--seemed like there might be a lot of chafing there between the two 'stars'.

SoS seems a much better fit: She gets to govern in her own realm (as much as the president permits) and make her own way (it seems at the moment) a lot more in a significant arena than in other roles she might have been offered.

This could be a great win/win for both Obama and Clinton, and for those of us who like watching naysayers heads explode.