Global News : Passport : Ricks : Drezner : Walt : Rothkopf : Lynch
The Cable : The AfPak Blog : Net Effect : Shadow Govt. : Madam Secretary : The Call
Thank you, readers!
This will be my last day manning the Madam Secretary blog. After four great years, I have decided to leave FP and have accepted a position at the Online NewsHour as Economics Editor. I've had a fantastic time watching Secretary Clinton these past few weeks. With so much to be done, her tenure promises to be nothing less than fascinating.
Thank you to all our Madam Secretary readers, and especially to all those who have emailed or left comments. You have consistently kept us on our toes and provided great feedback.
I plan to be a devoted reader and hope you will be as well. Thanks again.
Advertisement
FOREIGN POLICY is published by the Slate Group,
a division of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLC.
All contents ©2009 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLC. All rights reserved.
Madam Secretary is an obsessive blog about all things Hillary Clinton. From her policies to her pantsuits, Madam Secretary delivers up-to-the-minute news, analysis, and gossip about America’s top diplomat.
Leadership styles are different
Hey, PYW,
Agreed. Also, Hillary has said that she will run State a little differently from her predecessor. One of the differences she mentioned was: she intends to delegate more authority to assistants and special envoys so that she will be able to focus on areas that she thinks need her special attention. That is more of a significant change in leadership style, as opposed to an outright power shift. Just because we see responsibilities becoming more diffuse doesn't mean that Hillary is relinquishing -- or being stripped of -- her power.
If anyone out there is worried about, as Dick Morris put it:
"What, precisely, is it that Hillary is to do? The question lingers." --
I suggest you subscribe to the Daily Briefings from the State Dept., like I do. Read those for a few days, and there will be no doubt in your mind that even TWO Hillaries would not lack for something to do over there!
Great point
About her leadership style and the delegation of responsibility. I, too, subscribe to e-mail alerts from the State Department so I can see what's she's up to.
Anarchy!
This site has gone wild!
It's Hillary anarchy!
Someone take charge, quick!
My vote is for the office cleaning lady.
Anarchy works
Hey, HCA,
Why should anyone take charge? If the kind folks at FP are willing to sit back and let us blog freely, then I guess anarchy works! :-)
Taylor Marsh on the Dick Morris article
Great smackdown:
http://www.taylormarsh.com/2009/02/11/dick-morris-still-hunting-hillary/
My favorite part:
Only in this small man’s little mind would Secretary Clinton’s role in the Obama administration be seen as “incredible, shrinking,” and “dissolving under her feet.” The famous toe sucker of D.C. runs down a list of prominent Obama aides somehow coming to the conclusion that because Clinton isn’t in charge of everything she’s less. It’s a feat of rationalizing to make this head Hillary hater feel better about losing his own power base, which now consists of Sean Hannity’s world.
(Feb 11) Clinton Says North Korea Shouldn’t Spark Instability [B
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hopes North Korea’s recent rhetoric won’t trigger instability in the region and called on Kim Jong Il’s regime to re-engage with the international community.
The government in Pyongyang said last month it was scrapping all military and political agreements with South Korea. The communist nation is preparing to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile, Yonhap News Agency reported today, citing an unidentified South Korean source.
The U.S. is hopeful North Korea’s behavior isn’t a “precursor of any action that would up the ante, or threaten the stability and peace and security” of its neighbors, Clinton said at a news conference in Washington yesterday. She makes her first visit as secretary of state to Asia next week.
Clinton said there are “opportunities” for Kim’s regime if it makes progress on scrapping its nuclear weapons program, and said the U.S. is committed to six-party disarmament talks. The negotiations are at an impasse, with North Korea saying it won’t let international inspectors remove samples from its Yongbyon reactor, the source of the country’s weapons-grade plutonium.
“North Korea has to understand that all of the countries in east Asia have made it clear that its behavior is viewed as unacceptable,” said Clinton, whose trip includes stops in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing to discuss the nuclear stalemate.
Where are all the updates?? I
Where are all the updates?? I need my Hillary love.
Morris campaigned w. Obama for Sharia Law in Kenya! He's a Joke!
Please, let us not pay attention to what Dickie Morris, the one who is terminally afflicted with HIllary-hatred since the 90s, has to write!
Dickie went to Kenya with buddy Obama to promote the "Hope and Change" Campaign of Barack's couz Odinga who enacted Sharia Law and "modest coverings" legislation for Kenya's girls and women--with stoning as deterrent. This formerly peaceful country saw the spectacle of a "young inexperienced and thoughtless Senator from Illinois who interefered in a sovereign country's affairs"--as the then President of Kenya stated and this was reported by BBC and CBC--but not the American press, of course! The mess that this duplicitous duo inflicted upon the poor people of Kenya, with a revolution by Odinga's forces that uprooted half a million of women and left hundreds raped and maimed there as result of billionaire slumlord Odinga's promotion by the Obama-Dick Morris campaign and supporters....still lives on and Hope has subsided.
So, please, Dick Morris is a professional scumopapparazzi who's made his living from Clinton-bashing. Don't expect credibility to come from this truth-challenged man!
Now, WHERE IS THE EDITOR OF MADAM SECRETARY? WHO is the Editor?
Did you see President Arroyo of Philippines' meeting with Hillary the other day....why isn't it posted here!? Come on, get to work, FP!!
ANARCHY REIGNS @ FP!!!!
ANARCHY REIGNS...is this an FP contradiction?....
PYW and NYCgirl are right on!
Yes, pyw, but with a slight revision: All Hillary cares about is serving her country AND the world's best interests.
Thanks also to NYCgirl for alerting us to the State Dept.'s alerts! Great info. that we don't get here at the FP's Madam Secretary blog.
What is FP planning to do with this blog. It's a shame. I was getting used to Carolyn's musings and all the info and video links...great for Hillary-addicts like me....I went over to "No Quarter" and "the Confluence" and Heidi Li's Potpouri/"51%" to get my fix earlier....
You're welcome!
Hi, Sakel,
You're welcome! I get the Daily Briefing and the Secretary's Remarks emailed to me in a daily digest. That is a great service the State provides. There are other news items that people can subscribe to as well. I find the Daily Briefings to be very informative! I really have even more respect for Hillary and the responsibility she has on her shoulders now after reading those briefings for a couple of weeks!
Here's the link if anyone wants to sign up, on the State Dept. website:
https://service.govdelivery.com/service/multi_subscribe.html?code=USSTATEBPA
After you sign up, you'll be able to choose what information you want sent to you and in what format. Our tax dollars at work for something useful, for a change!
Dick Morris is an idiot.
I don't listen to his right wing rabble anymore. The guy lost his credibility years ago.
Also, I agree, I need Hillary updates PLEASE!!!
Roseann
This blog is too good to stop now! Hillary is going overseas this weekend on her first big trip and FP should be covering it on the Madame Secretary blog. What happened to Megan Carpentier who also used to contribute here? I'm glad to see so many others are commenting favorably for Hillary as SOS here as some of the other blog contributors(Ricks, Drezner)
on FP strike me as snarky or negative towards her.
And Dick Morris is a vile man who is only slightly less odious than Christopher Hitchens.
email carolyn o'hara
carolyn.ohara@foreignpolicy.com
I just emailed Carolyn over
I just emailed Carolyn over at the News Hour Online (her new shindig). We'll see if she responds.
this could be our new source??
http://allthingshillaryclinton.blogspot.com/
Fantastic, thanks!
Fantastic, thanks!
NY Foreign Policy: Madame Secy, vs. Rahm E.
from....http://www.examiner.com/x-2086-NY-Foreign-Policy-Examiner~y2009m2d8-Madame-Secretary-of-State-You-are-missing-from-the-nucleus-of-foreign-policy
"At first, I thought I was being paranoid as usual. My feminist instincts rose to the top of the heap in indignation. Though I endorsed President Barack Obama wholeheartedly, I felt some of his announcements and pronouncements should have come from Hillary Clinton. So I waited. First came the George Mitchell announcement, which I applauded. But President Obama, while being very gallant in saying that Mr. Mitchell would report back directly to Clinton and himself, it's much more to himself than to Clinton. Ditto for Holbrooke. Though Clinton was present during the announcements, all she did was shake hands and smile. Is this what the Secretary of State supposed to do?
Then we had the International Munich Security Conference, one that served as a platform for the U.S. to tell the world about its new foreign policy. Much as I adore Joe Biden, he's not the one that should have delivered that address. Foreign policy and diplomacy are matters relegated to the U.S. Secretary of State. What kind of message does this send to the world? That Mrs. Clinton is kept away from events of monumental change for US and its allies, and/or enemies? To borrow a phrase from Rachel Maddow, bullpucky!
Then there are the behind the scenes negotiations and drafting of letters to Iran. Mrs. Clinton, are you in on this endeavor? Why not? Joe Biden is currently discussing foreign policy matters with the Russians in Europe. Frankly, that's' not his job; it's yours. So far, I have heard that you met with European foreign leaders at the State Department and that President Arroyo came to visit you on February 6th. Not exactly earth shattering events, because the real deal was taking place in Munich.
Ok, so they're sending you overseas to Asia on your first official trip, but you're not really going where I think you ought to go. North Korea for instance. Myanmar and Thailand. It's wonderful that we want to re-affirm our relationship and friendship with China, Japan and South Korea, and you want to bring back the Peace Corps to Indonesia. Where's the beef?
A recent article in the Wayne Madsen Report suggests that this is the handiwork of Mr. Rahm Emmanuel, who harbors tremendous resentment for Mrs. Clinton. He may also be the one responsible for the marginalization of Howard Dean who should have been appointed Surgeon General, and the Caroline Kennedy withdrawal from the NY Senate Race (though I don't feel this is a great loss for New York).
Mrs. Clinton was directly responsible for Rahm Emmanuel's demotion from presidential policy adviser to the office of the White House Press Secretary in 1993. His continual attempts at sabotaging Middle East peace efforts and other negotiations of the Clinton Administration eventually got him fired in 1998. Looks like he's still licking his wounds."
and this is what we get for
and this is what we get for having a hack running the WH. A great asset marginalized.
this site
I just realized that you are all posting under the resignation letter of Ms. O'Hara. Glad to see you all- I was a little bummed about not having any new info on this site.
I too have been concerned about the "marginalizing Hillary" articles lately. Seems to be a concerted effort by someone - the big BO? to spread this rumor. I have to believe that our girl is smarter than all of them, and knew she was stepping into a den of thieves when she took this responsibility.
Is anyone else amused by the fact that many Obats are now feeling very unhappy with their leader right now? The trial lawyers just had a posting on our state website about BO appointing someone from the US Chamber of Commerce - a mortal enemy of all consumers and the public. BO needs a bigger bus - there are lots of people under there waiting to be run over.
A Bush tactic...one of many
One of the ways Obama is like Bush is that he too appoints mortal enemies of a given Dept's mission to over see said Dept. The aim is to ruin government and any corporate over site. IMO, Obama is Bush 3. If he wasn't the top 1% would not have backed him to the hilt.
perhaps
perhaps Ms. O'Hara left Madam Secretary because they shut down this blog and not the other way around.
It's not possible....
It's not possible to marginalized Hillary Clinton,
2008 proved that. With all the Upper Crust forces against her , thier media as well, ANYONE one else would have been political road kill in Feb. Hillary trumps any attempt with 18 hour days. They kept her from the oval office, but she's still the most powerful woman in the world.
My money is on Hill.
Response to my email to Carolyn O'Hara
Dear _________
Thanks very much for your email. I wish I had an answer for you. I'm equally in the dark about what FP has planned for the Madam Secretary blog, and I'm as mystified and disappointed as you are that there haven't been any posts this week.
Wish I could be more help - but rest assured that I've passed all of these emails on to our web editor.
Thanks,
Carolyn
Maybe they need a bailout
Maybe FP needs a bailout.
Had no idea you guys were still commenting under this post!
I commented the first day and then saw no new feeds. Just came back to check and I see that all the Hillary Folk are still here fomenting revolution at FP!! Good for us!
I'll email these folks too - let's just keep commenting here until they post something new - but preferably not by Megan who is clearly NOT Hillary's biggest fan.
This is what someone on
This is what someone on capitalhillforum had to say about the alleged marginalization of Hillary.
----------
Hardly.
This administration's foreign policy record is not going to be judged historically by how it deals with the Middle East or Europe, but how it deals with the rising power of East Asia, and in particular China.
The Bush Administration put Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson in charge of China policy.
Sending Clinton and not Geithener is a clear sign of Clintons importance in international policy.
As a recent foreign policy article states:
That the administration views East Asia as a key participant in addressing the world's most pressing challenges can be seen in the issues Clinton is preparing to take up – everything from the global financial crisis to climate change to nuclear proliferation.
"Historians will judge this administration and our generation on how we managed the rise of the East," says Michael Green, who was senior director of Asian affairs in the Bush National Security Council and is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. They will "look back at this [trip] as an important signal to the region."
No secretary of State since Dean Rusk under President Kennedy has made Asia his or her initial destination. But beyond the mere choice of Asia, Clinton has offered few advance hints on what she wants the week-long trip to accomplish.
Contemplating the "Why Asia?" question for a destination, some regional experts say Clinton had both strategic and tactical motivations. "The Obama administration is fully aware of the global shift in power eastwards," says Michael Fullilove, director of global issues at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, Australia.
He also sees Clinton making a quick "claim" on the China file. It will be "the most important bilateral relationship of the US in the coming decades," says Mr. Fullilove, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Now, Clinton is signaling Obama's Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, "like a lion putting its paw right on the bone," he says. By heading right out to Beijing, "she's saying, like that lion, 'It's mine. Are you going to do something about it?' "
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0213/p02s01-usfp.html
Its been over 40 years since a Secretary of State made Asia the place of their first visit
With the rise of China as a world economic power over the next few decades, how China policy is made is the most important foreign policy action that can be taken now. It is there where the direction of world history will be made for the next half century and nowhere else.
------
And it makes sense. We're solidifying our allies and repairing our bonds with them so that we can be a huge force in dealing with enemies. And Hil is just the right person to do it.
This is an interesting -- and
This is an interesting -- and reassuring -- perspective.
Rahmbo's Bully-ballet Knuckles Arouse Prezidential Angst!
It is unfathomable that Emmanuel Rahm(bo) --as his mother used to call him after her precious lost his iconic midfinger to the Deli slicer and became periodically hysterical--now has the big ears of the Prez!
It was reported in WashingPost last week or so that Rahmbo was sitting next to Obama cracking his knuckles, as is the ex-ballet dancer's 'bully-the-Prez' habit, when asked to "stop it" by Obama. Rahmbo, instead, brought his knuckles and flexible relevant fingers right against the President's ear....and he cracked them once aqain! Now, if that ain't indicative of a new Presidential Veto, I don't know what is!
And this powerfully immature, profane little ballet-bully has the big ears of the Prez! Please! Gimme a break! Or better still, give Rahmbo a break so he quits bothering his darling boss during high-summit meeetings.
Perhaps Rahmbo can go play bully-ballet-knuckles with his fellow sexist little punk, Jon Favreau (Director of Speechwriters!) next door. So, guys and galsm, it looks as if The Prez has proven Himself sufficiently competent in the 'knuckle-noise' tolerance department!
What a bunch of bully-ballet buffoons. They make Bushies look benevolently mature in comparison!
Enough already! WAKE UP, "FP"! Where's our Daily Fix?
Come on, now, FP. Haven't you had enough rest? Don't you think it's time to alert us Madam Secretary faithful to what's happening!? We even miss Carolyn! Anyone but Megan is fine and will be treated with adequate hospitality here!
WHAT'S HILLARY UP TO? You've given us enough of a break. Now, do your job and start giving us our daily fix. Don't you know that Hillary addicts are persistent and hard-working in attempting to drag you guys and gals back to work? Enough already!
Hillary in Indonesia
- Police beef up security to welcome Secretary Clinton in Jakarta / Indonesia
- Briefing in Indonesia befor Clinton arrives
....http://secretaryclinton.blogspot.com/
Dick Morris and Obama love Burqas! FP's new dress-code?
Well, Carolyn, wherever you may be, and wherever FP's bosses may be, isn't it sweet that in the first 100 magnificent Days of the Obama Prezidency, there's nothing here to show us that Dickie and Barry went to Kenya and both supported Barack's couz Odinga (now co-prez!) to bring back...sharia law and burqas for those poor Kenyan girls and women. Wonder if that's why FP has let go of Carolyn and this post....she may have refused FP's mandatory burqa-dress-code, eh?
Come up with another more explainable explanation, please, someone! It sees that many posts here have been removed by the Big Brothers at FP!!!!!
Why is FP so lethargic?
Come on, FP. Enough already. Surely your lethargic slumber on the Madam Secretary blog has been sufficient to give you enough rest and time to find a replacement for Carolyn. We are still waiting...Hillary will be elected Prez and you'll still have an 'out of service' blog here! Wake up!