State Department

In a recent Time magazine article, journalist Joe Klein lists three qualities that could make Clinton "a memorable Secretary of State":

1. "She brings a vision of departmental reform -- the need to elevate foreign aid programs to the same status and rigorous scrutiny as diplomacy -- that could change striped pants into chinos in the developing world."

2. She is also the first elected politician to hold the office since Edmund Muskie briefly did during the Carter Administration, which has enabled her to better understand and interact with the politicians who run places like Afghanistan and Pakistan."

3. "But most important, she is an international celebrity with a much higher profile than any of her recent predecessors and the ability -- second only to the President's -- to change negative attitudes about the U.S. abroad."

And change negative attitudes she has. During her recent visit to Pakistan, she visited a Sufi mosque that been attacked by Sunni extremists. It made quite an impression on many moderate Pakistani Muslims, including one who told Klein, "We saw her praying there, and, for the first time, I'm thinking, 'The Americans have hearts.'"

Clinton also made herself available for students, talk-show hosts, and Pashtun elders, who asked her all sorts of difficult questions, and as Klein puts it, "her candor, her willingness to listen to and acknowledge criticism, had begun to undermine the prevailing Pakistani image of the U.S. as arrogant and bossy." A government spokeswoman and member of Parliament told Klein:

In the past, when the Americans came, they would talk to the generals and go home. … Clinton's willingness to meet with everyone, hostile or not, has made a big impression -- and because she's Hillary Clinton, with a real history of affinity for this country, it means so much more."

Although Klein offers constructive criticism for Clinton (saying that the controversy she sparked about settlements shows she needs "a few lessons in Middle East Haggling 101"), he does praise her as "the second most popular American in the world, an eternally compelling and supremely talented character, … a walking headline."

Klein writes that with her "three qualities," Clinton could become a memorable secretary of state. But for her fans worldwide, she already has become one.

Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

A 64-year-old Foreign Service officer has sued Secretary Clinton for age discrimination. Last November, the woman was offered -- and accepted -- a two-year position at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers, Algeria, which would have begun this past summer. Instead, the offer was rescinded when it was discovered that the woman would turn 65 during the middle of her term. The mandatory retirement age for Foreign Service officers is 65.

The woman has filed an age-discrimination lawsuit against Clinton, stating that the age limit is unconstitutional and based on old-fashioned stereotypes. What's particularly painful is that the woman didn't join the Foreign Service until age 54 because when she wanted to join earlier, there was a ban on married women!

Clinton, who's almost 62, will be turning 65 when she's still secretary of state, but the mandatory retirement age doesn't apply to political appointees. "Imagine if someone told Hillary Clinton she couldn't be secretary of state because she would turn 65 before her term is up," a lawyer representing the woman told the Washington Post.

If an adult is physically and mentally able to handle a position, age shouldn't matter. I would hope Clinton agrees. As more baby boomers enter their "senior years," my hunch is that these age barriers will come down.

Photo: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton was on TV yesterday! In a Face the Nation interview that was pre-taped Friday, Clinton talked about the recent news of Iran's secret nuclear facility and the upcoming Oct. 1 meeting between representatives of Iran and the P5+1 countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States.

Clinton said of Iran, its nuclear facility, and the Oct. 1 meeting:

We don't believe that they can present convincing evidence that it's only for peaceful purposes, but we are going to put them to the test on October 1st."

When asked, "What can Iran say in this meeting to say we're really -- all all we're trying to do is make electricity?", Clinton bluntly replied:

Well, they can't say anything because they've said that for years, but they can open up their entire system to the kind of extensive investigation that the facts call for."

When interviewer Harry Smith asked Clinton about the "crippling sanctions" that Clinton said should be put in place if diplomacy with Iran fails, she replied:

Well, Harry, we're exploring how you broaden and deepen sanctions. Now sanctions are already in place as you know, but like many sanction regimes they're leaky. But in the last eight months since we've been dealing with North Korea on a similar set of issues we have forged an international consensus around very tough sanctions. And that's given us some additional information about how to proceed on the Iranian front."

When the interview switched to Pakistan, Clinton had complimentary words:

HARRY SMITH: Is Pakistan doing enough to clean up its own house?

HILLARY CLINTON: Well, look at, again, what has happened in the last nine months. Pakistan has increased its commitment in the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda.

HARRY SMITH (overlapping): They were successful in Swat valley.

HILLARY CLINTON: Absolutely successful.

Clinton did add, though, that the United States is working for even more action from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, husband Bill was on Meet the Press. When asked about the presence of Hillary's famously worded "vast right-wing conspiracy," Bill said:

It's not as strong as it was, because America's changed demographically, but it's as virulent as it was."

And when asked whether Hillary will ever run for president again, Bill replied:

That's up to her. I don't -- you know, we're not getting any younger. But I'm proud of what she's doing now. I think she's doing a good job and I'm honored that -- I think it's pretty thrilling that she and the president have established the relationship they have. And it's a good argument for reconciliation and remembering the big things for all the rest of us."

This weekend, the Washington Post (published by the Washington Post Co., which also owns Foreign Policy) ran a huge A1 story, "A Team Player Who Stands Apart," about Secretary Clinton. It says that Clinton is torn in two directions, between being a leader on signature issues such as women's rights and being a team player who works harmoniously with other members of the Barack Obama administration.

Those of you who are tired of the "Hillary in the shadows" theme probably won't be too crazy about this piece. Here's a taste:

By all accounts, she is the consummate team player and is often the best-briefed, most prepared person in the room. President Obama's aides say he values her advice and appreciates her dedication, dampening speculation that he and his erstwhile rival would not work well together.

But after eight months in office, Clinton, 61, sometimes seems torn between her inclination to lead and her need to function effectively within the administration, creating a certain tension between her aspirations and her status.

She has been prone to making pronouncements and blunt comments that have put her ahead of, or out of sync with, the rest of the administration. She maintains a robust public persona -- her lengthy overseas trips are filled with town hall meetings and softball television interviews -- but she is largely invisible on the big issues that dominate the foreign policy agenda, including the war in Afghanistan, the attempt to engage Iran and efforts to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Interestingly, during her interview, Clinton hinted that she might not be secretary of state for eight years. The end of the article states:

Asked if she would be sitting in the same office for eight years, Clinton shuddered.

"Please! I will be so old," she said with a shake of her head.

The full transcript of Clinton's interview with the Post is here, along with audio clips.

•As for interviews, Clinton is on PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer tonight. A preview clip is above.

•And, the full video and transcript of Clinton's Friday speech at Brookings is here.

Secretary Clinton's schedule is absolutely packed today, but she'll conclude the day with something delicious and spiritual, the State Department's iftar dinner to celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the subject of a recent FP photo essay. With her busy day, though, I doubt she'll be fasting. (At left, Clinton attends a dinner in Brussels on March 4, when she was there to discuss Afghanistan strategy with allies.)

Someone else who has been feasting lately is Clinton's husband Bill, who ate lunch with President Obama while he was in New York yesterday to give a speech to the city's financial sector. The two ate at Il Mulino, a restaurant featuring dishes from Italy's Abruzzo region.

In other news:

•Secretary Clinton has "provisionally agreed" to travel to Israel at the end of October or the beginning of November, reports former FP writer Laura Rozen, who's now at Politico.

•Clinton most restructure the State Department to make it more efficient, a recent FP article argues.

Photo: DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton is thinking about quitting her secretary-of-state job to run for New York governor, according to a one-sentence post written by Weekly Standard blogger Michael Goldfarb, who was deputy communications director for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign last year. Goldfarb's source? His "boss" (presumably editor William Kristol), who heard it from two sources.

As a Gawker blogger put it, "If Bill Kristol says it, than [sic] it is the opposite of true. That is the only constant in American Politics."

Other Clinton news:

•Clinton will be at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York tomorrow -- Sept. 11 -- to receive the Roosevelt Institute's FDR Four Freedoms Award, which "honors a lifetime of distinguished service and an unwavering commitment to these freedoms." (Those four freedoms being "freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.") If you have $1,000 and cocktail attire, you can attend the gala dinner.

•As you've probably heard, the Supreme Court -- with Justice Sonia Sotomayor debuting -- is hearing the campaign finance case related to Hillary: The Movie.

Photo: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

In a letter to the editor, someone disagrees with FP blogger David Rothkopf's glowing Washington Post op-ed about how Secretary Clinton is "quietly revolutionizing" U.S. foreign policy. 

In yesterday's Washington Post, FP blogger David J. Rothkopf wrote a lengthy op-ed about how Secretary Clinton is "quietly revolutionizing" U.S. foreign policy, "overseeing what may be the most profound changes in U.S. foreign policy in two decades -- a transformation that may render the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush mere side notes in a long transition to a meaningful post-Cold War worldview."

Rothkopf writes that Clinton is tackling many future-oriented issues:

--How to deal with nonstate actors

--Moving from Madeleine Albright's idea that the United States is an "indispensable nation" to recognizing "the indispensability of collaborating with others"

--Prioritizing engagement with emerging powers such as China, India, and Russia (Rothkopf says Clinton has sounded the "death knell for the G-8 as the head table of the global community.")

--Harnessing the power of information technology (remember text "Swat"?)

--Giving prominence to women's issues (creating the position of ambassador at large for women's issues and bringing attention to rape in Congo).

--Reviewing the State Department's priorities with its new Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review

The list goes on, but Rothkopf makes clear the Clinton is revolutionizing U.S. foreign policy in her own quiet way while many others are simply "missing the forest for the pantsuits."