Posted By P.J. Aroon Share

A cursory Internet search finds these views of Secretary Clinton's first 100 days:

For his list of 100-days winners, Chris Cillizza at The Fix (a Washington Post blog) selected Clinton:

Who would have thought that in less than one year Clinton would go from a defeated presidential candidate to the country's top diplomat? Clinton['s] decision to leave politics (forever?) has paid off as her approval number[s] are through the roof. (A mid-March CNN poll showed 71 percent of Americans approved of the job she was doing as secretary of state.) Clinton has been measured and effective as an advocate for the president's policies and has shown an amazing adaptability as she moves from political circles to diplomatic ones.

Charles Wolfson, State Department reporter for CBS News, writes:

For those who forecast that Hillary Clinton would have trouble playing second fiddle to her former political foe, senior officials who have watched the two say she knows who the boss is and has had no problem accommodating herself to her new role.

Over at Politico, David Cloud writes:

In less than 100 days, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did something that neither Colin Powell nor Condoleezza Rice was able to accomplish in their entire tenures: She restored the State Department to the central place in U.S. foreign policy.

"What Clinton has done and the president has done is to say clearly that diplomacy is a national security tool of the United States," said Marc Grossman, a career foreign service officer who served as undersecretary of state during the Bush administration. "The only tool is no longer just the military."

Over on the other side of the Atlantic, the BBC seems to concur about placing diplomacy center stage (it does need to update Clinton's mileage to 74,107, however):

By the president's side is a straight-talking secretary of state with her own star-power and some 60,000 air miles already under her belt - Hillary Clinton.

The administration's new emphasis on diplomacy means the state department is squarely back at the heart of America's efforts to engage with the world, from allies to rivals.

Of course, there are some negatives. Here are a few:

--David Cloud at Politico mentions that in the first 100 days there hasn't been much in the way of "diplomatic breakthroughs, peace deals or the standard measurements of State Department success." On the other hand, he admits that these types of accomplishments can't be expected to happen in a mere 100 days.

--Then there was the blooper with the reset button that Clinton gave to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Instead of saying "reset" in Russian to indicate wanting to press the reset button on U.S.-Russia relations, the button had printed on it a Russian word that translated to something along the lines of "overload."

--Additionally, many Americans were upset when Clinton played down human rights when she visited China in February. On human rights in China she said, "Successive [U.S.] administrations and Chinese governments have been poised back and forth on these issues, and we have to continue to press them. But our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crisis."

--Then, of course, there's the whole issue about reaching out to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

 
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CAROLYN-RODHAM

6:25 PM ET

April 30, 2009

And if you believe in CNN/Opinion Research Corp polls...

Hillary was given a grade of "A" by 25% of those polled, and a "B" by 33% -- i.e. nearly 60% of respondents thought she was doing a good to excellent job. Overall grade was B-.

Her boss? Similar marks. He was given an "A" by 26% and a "B" by 31%. Overall grade also a B- (15% rated his performance as a "D" and 10% gave him an "F).

I had the impression that the CNN commentators were surprised Obama's grades weren't even higher -- so naturally they dismissed the validity of their own poll!

By way of comparison, eleven percent of those questioned gave Geithner an A, 26 percent a B, 31 percent a C, 13 percent a D and 19 percent a F. The Treasury Secretary's grade averaged out to a C. I would have pegged him lower. He has been the biggest disappointment but no-one dares say so.

 

STILL4HILL

6:34 PM ET

April 30, 2009

No way ever on this earth in

No way ever on this earth in this lifetime has or should Hillary Rodham Clinton's name EVER be associated with the grade B-.

My heavens! She never, ever stops! If this is not an A, I don't know what is!

Hillary, pay no attention to CNN. You are an A++++++++++++++ on my grade roster.

 

BLUE13326

7:35 PM ET

April 30, 2009

Let's see: Russia is massing

Let's see:

Russia is massing troops on Georgia's borders.

North Korea has done one missile test and is threatening more, and has taken two American journalists hostage.

Iran is going full speed ahead with its nuke program and has thrown one American in prison.

Has she done anything positive with her time?

 

CAROLYN-RODHAM

9:00 PM ET

April 30, 2009

Why so serious,blue?

You are decidedly in the minority here, blue.

In various polls, Hillary's approval numbers have been between 65-70%, disapproval numbers 20-30%. Either you have special knowledge that the rest of us morons lack, or you are Republican, or you are one of those Hillary haters who will never be happy no matter what she does.

But I'll bite. Has she done anything with her time? Please remember that for the first few months -- really until after the London summit -- I think she was deliberately keeping a lowish profile and yielding the limelight to her boss. But the reviews from around the world have been, with few exceptions, glowing:

"The Japanese are clearly very happy that Secretary Clinton is beginning with her Asia trip with Japan. And they clearly are reassured that Japan still counts in Washington's calculus...The real accomplishment here and the key is that Secretary Clinton is visiting Asia first. And our long-term interests, American long-term interests are deeply entwined with Asia's future. And I think that statement that she is going to that region first is a very important one to make."

"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton promised the people of war-torn Iraq on Saturday that the Obama administration will not abandon them as it begins to pull out U.S. troops."

"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on leaders of the world's largest economies today to rein in greenhouse gas emissions and pledged that the United States will 'lead the way.'"

"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned in unusually bleak terms Wednesday that Pakistan’s fragile government is facing an “existential threat” from Islamic militants who are now operating within a few hours of the capital."

"Hillary Clinton brought mea culpas to Mexico Wendesday for the guns and money flowing south from the U.S. that have fueled the bloody drug wars between the cartels and the Mexican army...Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa hailed the "constructive attitude" of the new administration of President Obama."

"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Sunday with Lebanon's president on a stop in Beirut ahead of a critical election that could see a pro-U.S. government ousted by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies...Another reason she's coming is to reassure the Lebanese that the outreach to Syria and the attempts to engage Iran are not being done at the expense of U.S. support for Lebanon's sovereignty and independence."

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears on a talk show during a visit to Ankara, Turkey, Mar. 7, 2009.The secretary of State was greeted with applause in the Middle East and Europe, but she and the administration face hard work ahead.The appearance on the show, with four female interviewers, is part of Clinton's strategy to reach out to ordinary people through public diplomacy efforts.
She appeared on a popular television show while in Indonesia last month on a tour of Asia. During her swing through Europe and the Middle East this week, she met students on the Israeli-occupied West Bank and held a town hall meeting."

etc.

Give her another 100 days - and who knows?

 

B. ELLI COSE

12:08 AM ET

May 1, 2009

Is the Madame Secretary blog back?

May I just say how pleased I am that this blog seems to have reverted to serious content? :) While it's not necessarily a bad thing to comment *occasionally* on Ms. Clinton's appearance/clothes (e.g., I think she looks wonderful in blue--see Lebanon/Israel pictures in previous posts) as long as male politicians are subjected to the same level of sartorial scrutiny, I think that a near-exclusive focus on her appearance is quite demeaning to her. Whether or not one approves of Ms. Clinton (and I do, heartily!), she remains one of the most powerful women in the world--and therefore a person who certainly does not deserve to be trivialized by an infantile focus on style over substance.

Here's hoping the serious reportage will continue. Good job, Preeti!

 

B. ELLI COSE

12:15 AM ET

May 1, 2009

Oh and...

One more thing...

Chris Cillizza was quoted here as saying: "Clinton has been measured [as] effective...."

However, Cillizza's original statement was as follows: "Clinton has been measured and effective...."

Cillizza's original statement was actually correct as is.

 

P.J. AROON

3:20 AM ET

May 1, 2009

Fixed!

Thanks. I had read the sentence a different way.
 

JOHN.VEERA

3:18 PM ET

May 1, 2009

Kudos to Hillary

I for one am happy that we got the double team of Obama and Hillary navigating the U.S ship around the world. The double team seems to emphasize more the 'soft power' than the 'hard power' of U.S. We should be glad that we were able to get rid of another 4 years of bush policy under a McCain administration.
Hillary had done a lot in the first 100 days. If any criticism, I would say that she had failed to enforce a ceasefire in the tiny island nation of SriLanka.

 

ANNE

10:41 PM ET

May 4, 2009

CNN distorted hillary's

CNN distorted hillary's statement, don't lower yourself. well...

 

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.