httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQAZxUO3Sxo&eurl
Full text of Clinton’s opening statement
“We must use what has been called smart power, the full range of tools at our disposal… With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy.” – Secretary of State designate Hillary Clinton
The word was “we.” It remains to be seen if the skeptics will be mollified, but Clinton presented her case, fully prepared and deeply knowledgeable, with President-elect Obama’s plans present in her statements. There was no daylight. The smiling, jovial, partisan Hillary Clinton took a back seat to the serious foreign policy professional today. Her respect for the Senate’s role evident. Cooperation between all the players up front.
The State Department is back. Clear that President-elect Obama intends to give the State department new teeth through Clinton, taking some of the work from the Defense department, giving new respect for what State can do. Fistfuls of cash in the hands of the military on the ground, no matter how well meaning the “warrior,” cannot replace the role of a State Department professional on the ground, who knows the language and culture, with that same cash, said Clinton. Defense has their role. State has their role. The two are not the same. The Obama administration’s State department under Clinton will reinstate those defining missions, changing course from Bush-Cheney. It’s the most welcome sign to date.
“… One very important aspect of the decisions we make is that we engage in consultation with our friends in the region and beyond. We don’t want anything I say today or the president-elect says to take our friends and allies by surprise. .. But I think it’s fair to say that the president-elect as recently as this weekend said we’re going to be trying new approaches, because what we’ve tried has not worked.” – Secretary of State designate Hillary Clinton
“We will move in concert” whenever possible, a policy president-elect Obama insists upon, with our allies and friends.
Unfortunately, in the middle of Senator Boxer’s statement on the treatment of women that included brutal pictures, Chris Matthews and MSNBC decided it was too awful to see (video). He broke in, interrupting the reality so that Hillary Clinton’s passion on the subject of women’s rights was missed. But Matthews made a point to emphasize Clinton’s passion and commitment, also saying her statements would ricochet around the world. What Hillary Clinton can do for women around the world is no small issue, impacting a country’s stability. What many women face around the world is not cultural, it is “criminal,” as Clinton stated today.
Will we put an ambassador back in Syria?, asked Senator Kerry. Specificity will have to wait, but understanding of what’s needed acknowledged.
Nuclear Iran:
“The president-elect has said repeatedly it’s unacceptable. It is going to be United States policy to pursue diplomacy with all its multitudinous tools to do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state. As I also said, no option is off the table. But the president-elect has been very clear that it is unacceptable and that is our premise and that is what we’re going to be basing our actions on.” – Secretary of State designate Hillary Clinton
On Afghanistan: “It is the highest priority of the President-elect. … We have to look at Afghanistan and Pakistan together. … It is imperative that we work with our friends in Afghanistan and Pakistan. …it is about persuading those two countries that their security.. is at risk. …”
The details remain and cannot be filled in until President-elect Obama takes office. But make no mistake about it, the person he has chosen to lead State is prepared for what they will face together. There has never been a doubt that Clinton would be confirmed. However, her performance today was likely beyond the expectations of even her colleagues, and should leave honest critics mute.
First! Wow.
Mornin’ Betsy.
It’s a great day for women…
Taylor, I was very disappointed when Chris panned away from the picture that Sen. Boxer was showing. I turned to CSPAN. Anyway, I can hardly wait until Obama is sworn in. I believe we will see some REAL changes coming on all fronts. Just hope I’m not disappointed.
Yes it is Taylor. I really got choked up listening to Hillary.
Good for the world too ladies.
SO much to do. I think Hillary is up to the task.
I agree with you Iceblinkjm. Knowing that she’s highly respected in the world today certainly should give everyone hope.
Her tone is perfect Taylor, she’s strong and supremely prepared and she’s talking about herself as part of the new administration as opposed to some free agent.
It’s a great day.
You all are terrific, especially you die hard Obama fans welcoming HRC with open arms.
As you can see today, however, there is no daylight between Hillary and her boss. The respect is also evident.
Wow! Thank you, Taylor, for letting us know what’s being said. I can’t stand Chris M. I just keep being impressed with Hillary and I thought I was before. She will be just outstanding. I hope it shuts up her critics!!
Hey all, just turned the hearing on. C. Mathews was talking about a statement from the RNC. What did I miss?
Its good to see Hillary!
Hey AG. It’s the usual email blasts from the RNC.
Glad I am watching CSPAN via my DVR… Those photo’s needed to be seen.
A terrific exchange here with Feingold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQAZxUO3Sxo
Includes Iraq, Darfur, and Afghanistan.
I can’t stand Chris M. I
Velvet | 01.13.2009 – 12:11 pm | #
Believe it or not he said some very complimentary things about her just now.
GeoT is correct, as I pointed out in the midst of the decision to cut away from the coverage. Matthews definitely gave Clinton her due.
This liveblogging post could be interesting for some not having video capabilities:
http://www.undispatch.com/archives/2009/01/live-blogging_c.php
It galls me no end to hear weasels like Jonathan Alter make statements like, “if she gets fired from this job,she has nowhere to go…”right after remarking that the RNC blasts sounded like “old politics”…what is older politics that predicting trouble for Hillary?
Lake Lady | 01.13.2009 – 12:29 pm | #
the universe is back in alignment:
FoxNews is back to Hillary trashing, saying she “orchestrated” this “takeover” of the State Dept. via Michael Steele… and again the “liberal” on Fox is anything but (Kirsten Powers)
Good to note and thanks, GeoT.
Hannity on his new show will be on fire tonight.
Hey LL. I’ve now taken the attitude of “we won, let them say whatever they want.” I AM happy to see Michelle Bernard so supportive of Hillary.
Generally I do like Alter, but don’t know why he said that. Glad to hear him say that she can’t be pushed around. After what Bush did to Condi the other day, I’m happy that Hillary is where she is right now.
Hey LL. I’ve now taken the attitude of “we won, let them say whatever they want.” I AM happy
to see Michelle Bernard so supportive of Hillary.
Betsy | 01.13.2009 – 12:42 pm | #
that seems like a good attitude Betsy.
The way I see the likes of Hannity and Rush is they’re poor sport adolescents that got beat and can’t manage to congratulate the opposition, even for a minute.
Hannity on his new show will be on fire tonight.
TaylorMarsh | Homepage | 01.13.2009 – 12:42 pm | #
I think he’ll be busy helping out on the “Rewrite the Bush Legacy” extravaganza, they let Sean into the White house so he’ll be Bush’s lap dog tonight.
I can’t stand the msm coverage of the hearings with people like tweety talking over everything. C-Span2 is the place to hear the hearings in full. Hillary is going to make a great SOS, and my hats off to Obama for picking a great team of players to help him govern. It was Alice Paul’s birthday this week on the 11th, and she would be very proud today.
Of course, you are correct, angels81. I watch both, but use the traditional media to capture video, because C-SPAN won’t allow it.
Matthews definitely gave Clinton her due.
TaylorMarsh | Homepage | 01.13.2009 – 12:26 pm | #
OK. Does it make up for the awful things he’s said in the past? Hmmmm, I’ll see how he does for a while to decide that.
It’s not about making up or absolution, it’s just that today he gave HRC her due.
Another time when opposing thoughts must dance together in the brain.
Geo and Betsy have the right attitude…I just have a hard time forgetting Alter’s shaming of HRC when she wouldn’t quit.
ANGLES81…I watch CNBC because I am waiting for them to eat crow!They are doing it quite a bit.
Tweety has always been a guy who goes with the flow. If the flow goes against Hillary, tweety will be right there. Its all about ratings for tweety.
Hi Lake Lady.
The more for more strategy.
Gotta love it.
TaylorMarsh | Homepage | 01.12.2009 – 5:09 pm
“That said, many Obama supporters would rather be boiled in oil than criticize our new
president. Anything that comes close to this is consider heresy. That is equally ludicrous,
especially when he stumbles so horribly as he did on Warren.”
Geez Taylor, I’m a Hillary supporter too but your constant stream of love-fest pro-Hillary can-do-ANYTHING articles makes your quote above seem a bit comical coming from someone who in the last year would have rather peeled her own skin than acknowledge the constant barrage of mistakes from Hillary during the primary.
Hillary, no doubt, is the most qualified for SOS, but I wonder if you’ll go on ad nauseaum when Hillary has her version of a “Warren” moment….hmmmmm
Hillary is scary smart, very impressive and at ease with everything she’s being questioned on.
The Clinton Foundation stuff has to be dealt with up front so that it doesn’t become a distraction later… I don’t see a big problem though, in fact Bill Clinton could very well envoy for Obama at some point.
Hey Angels…pretty damn cold up there today!You must be dreaming of spring and bike rides,like I am dreaming of gardening.
Hey Angels…pretty damn cold up there today!You must be dreaming of spring and bike rides,like
I am dreaming of gardening.
Lake Lady | 01.13.2009 – 1:11 pm | #
Maybe I should keep quite but I’m in the new place and we had an all time record high of 77 yesterday (this is on the coast)… *ducking*
Only the Clintons would be raked over the coals for doing good via WJC’s foundation.Andrea Mitchell should give it a rest…I ask you all whose husband has hurt this country the most?
Lake Lady… You got that right, cold up here is an understatement. 35 below wind chill today.
in fact Bill Clinton could very well
envoy for Obama at some point.
GeoT | 01.13.2009 – 1:10 pm | #
LOL Geo, you want to see the wingnuts go crazy don’t you.
Geo …it is good thing we are in cyberspace! You might be getting some sharp elbows right about now…wind chill here this morning was 2…which is nothing compared with farther north where Angels lives….
Betsy, I love it when the wingnuts go crazy. I hope they all drop dead over Hillary and Bill for that matter.
LOL Geo, you want to see the wingnuts go crazy don’t you.
Betsy | 01.13.2009 – 1:16 pm | #
let’s keep them occupied so they lose even more seats in 2010
I think when Obama chose Hillary for SoS, he threw many in the press a curveball that made them sit up and take notice. It kind of turned the conventional wisdom MSM chatter on its head and forced people to take another look at him and her. Now, instead of two rivals, we see a great team in place. I think some are finally seeing in her what many of us have known and felt for awhile.
angels…lol. me too!
Lake Lady | 01.13.2009 – 1:17 pm | #
I won’t go into detail LL but let’s just say it’s great beach weather in January…in Northern California… although it was 29 the other morning so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. :=)
lynnette…she has always just refused to be influenced by them…she just forges ahead, like she said so movingly in her concession speech…”if the dogs are behind you just keep going”…it is what I love about her.
lynnette,I agree, Obama really threw them a curve. I think they thought that these two rivals would be at each others throats for the next 4 years, instead we have a team that is going to be very powerful.
lynnette | 01.13.2009 – 1:19 pm | #
well said. And not only is she up for the challenge she seems energized by it.
Geo …isn’t your current warmth kinda unusual for this time of year?
Right angels didn’t the two of them just confound people! I really respect Obama for all but a few of his choices…basically one of them …Warren. In the grand scheme of things he is small potatoes ,I guess.
I’m going to lose the juice on my daughter’s laptop pretty soon…darn.
Geo …isn’t your current warmth kinda unusual for this time of year?
Lake Lady | 01.13.2009 – 1:35 pm | #
VERY, it was 5 degrees above the all time high (for January 12) yesterday
It really is a breath of fresh air to see a president elect pick a Hillary, Gen Jones and all the other smart, thoughtful people to help him govern this country. Hillary will bring new respect for this country in a time of great unknowns. This really is a dream team, and it feels good to be an American again.
Don’t you have the battery LL?
I just watched the video of Boxer and Clinton. That is really profound and I’m sure the loony tunes (Lamebrain, Hannity, et al) will be going crazy. Love to see them on their ear. I listen to them and get sick. Told hubby I won’t listen to them anymore. But his comment is “you have to know what the enemy is saying and doing.”
By the way, a good laugh. Our daughter the nurse in SF just called me and said she ordered an inaugural tee shirt and sweat shirt. I’m sure she’s happy to have that job now.
I
listen to them and get sick. Told hubby I won’t listen to them anymore. But his comment is
“you have to know what the enemy is saying and doing.”
Betsy | 01.13.2009 – 1:41 pm | #
I had to stop listening to them as part of my stress reduction… I just get snippets here and there.
lynnette,I agree, Obama really threw them a curve. I think they thought that these two rivals
would be at each others throats for the next 4 years, instead we have a team that is going to
be very powerful.
angels81
I never understood that concept. If the next four years go poorly, I would assume a Republican would win no matter who ran as a Democrat. Did people think that HRC was going to try to sabotage Obama? I guess the media saw the Senate and House completely roll over for Bush for six years, and figured that anything short of that is opposition.
justlen’s guy, Steven Chu, is having hearings today as well:
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/chu-confirmation-update-answering-for-past-statements/
DaveB | 01.13.2009 – 1:46 pm | #
I understood the concept. In the view of some initial skeptics (including me, to be honest), the appointment would unfold in one of two ways. In the first, she and Obama would be simpatico on the issues, she would provide him her sage advice and counsel, and the two of them would return the State Department to its preeminent role in foreign policy. In the second, she would gather around her a coterie of loyalist advisers (like Maggie Williams or Cheryl Mills) and, in the event of inevitable disputes between the White House and Foggy Bottom, there would be leaks from each side about how stupid and incompetent the other was. See: George Bush and Colin Powell. See: Abraham Lincoln and Seward Chase (at treasury). In this scenario, the running dispute would fan the embers of the bitter primary, and divide Democrats once more. The fact is, there ARE limits to the Team of Rivals storyline.
Many of you here derided the second scenario. But some of the initial rhetoric — including from the afore-mentioned Williams and Mills — was not promising.
However, I am very happy to say that Clinton’s testimony today (what little I have been able to see and read of it) has dispelled my fears. I never doubted that Hillary had the native ability and talent to be a great SoS. But I was apprehensive as to whether her loyalists would make trouble. That does not seems to be happening. Which is extremely comforting.
Just remember the feeling you have today, and please build up that resevoir of goodwill. Because I promise you the day will come when Obama and Clinton will have differences, and those differences will be leaked. And some of you will be hopping mad about the disrespect Obama allegedly showed Clinton by not taking her advice. And it will be then that you will need to reflect on the entire context: this day, and what seems to be a fantastic working relationship.
Hi folks. Just trying to catch up on things. OT but interesting commentary from Ed Rollins on the outgoing and incoming presidents:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/13/rollins.obama/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
“The inauguration of Barack Obama, the first African-American president, cannot come quickly enough for the vast majority of Americans.
This young man with the keen disciplined mind and the buffed body begins a presidency with high hopes, goodwill and a never-ending list of problems left on the Oval Office desk by George Walker Bush, the ever-confident occupant of that high office who seems like the dinner guest who will not leave.
In all my years around Washington as an observer and as a member of several administrations, I have rarely witnessed an event as bizarre as President Bush’s farewell press conference yesterday.”
snip
“President Bush is not a crook either. And even more importantly, I don’t believe he is dishonest or an incompetent. The mistakes of his presidency were caused by overconfidence, bad information or a certain arrogance that was still fully on display yesterday.”
djjl | 01.13.2009 – 2:19 pm | #
Hi djjl
Rollins also classified Bush as one of the “worst presidents ever” (on CNN)
Hi GeoT. I hadn’t heard that. Thanks for the update. I’ve been tangled up in wedding stuff and trying to keep up with where the Kuwaiti bound daughter and husband are heading off to next. They ‘re in Bangkok Thailand at a job fair. (Why can’t they just come home to some exotic place like California or Iowa).
New Gallup poll released today – Hillary approval rating at 65% – a ten year high.
http://www.gallup.com
Hey there djjl. LOL that probably would be too boring for them. They sound like a very adventuresome couple.
Hi Betsy. They are definitely that. They called last night about a job offer from Dubai with a big pay increase and a nanny thrown in for good measure. They get a lot of time off here and there throughout the year – you just don’t know where they’re going to pop up. Just got a card from Prague last week.
I find it curious that tweety feels the need to protect his viewers from information being discussed in HRC’s confirmation.
Vitter is an idiot.
I want Vitter to disclose all his contributions to DC madams, escort services, and their employees, too.
Vitter is a thick-headed ass who is currently demonstrating how walking into a hearing armed with nothing more than posters and talking points is no longer going to cut it. That’s right Senators – you might actually have to be up to speed on what happened when you were out of the room, as well as the basic facts of the issues at hand.
That guy …
Jim Webb is a really sharp guy. I like him.
Shouldn’t Vitter be in jail or at least removed from the US Senate?
I thought that type of “solicitation” was illegal?
These republicans never fail to make me ill…..
These republicans never fail to make me ill…..
c chicago | 01.13.2009 – 2:52 pm | #
looks like they got their talking points from the RNC during the lunch break.
and does anyone take Vitter seriously? on anything?
Vitter and his ilk haven’t figured out that the American people want their government to work this time.
sigh – I wish I had an ilk.
Chu’s already disappointing me. He’s backing off his proposal to set a floor price on gasoline.
If more of the MSM, would mention the DC madam, everytime they mention Vitter, he would shut the hell up. He feels safe to make news, because they don’t mention the dirt. What a jerk.
new thread, focusing on Vitter, WJC, and Lugar…
Hey all -
I am just so thrilled that Hillary will be S.O.S. I have only heard a bit of the hearing today. Does anyone know if C-Span will be replaying it tonight?
Chu’s already disappointing me. He’s backing off his proposal to set a floor price on gasoline.
justlen | 01.13.2009 – 3:17 pm | #
________________________________________________
Do you honestly think the US Public would stand still for that? Remember there has to be public support for such a thing, and I doubt it would be forthcoming particularly in this economy.
Chu’s already disappointing me. He’s backing off his proposal to set a floor price on gasoline.
justlen | 01.13.2009 – 3:17 pm | #
are you thru with Chu?
SusanElizabeth1949 | 01.13.2009 – 3:33 pm | #
One of the tenets of the peak oil theory is that prices will be artificially low until just before we run out. I’ve always felt we should tax the living hell out of gas and use the revenue for infrastructure improvement. The high price would force people to begin to change their behavior. This is a subject Chu in the past has been consistent about and I was disappointed that he is backpedaling.
On an encouraging note gas consumption hasn’t risen back to pre $4.00/gal levels. Maybe people ARE changing their ways.
They may change voluntarily Len, but I can tell you any attempt to artificially raise gas prices by the Administration will hit a brick wall in Congress. And if it didn’t the Dems would get slaughtered in 2010 and the next couple of cycles. The best ideas in the world (if this IS one) can go no where without the political will on the part of the public to back them — and I can’t see such an idea getting tremendous support.
Hillary, of course, knocked it out of the ballpark, but then….this position is really underemployment for her.
I’ll probably die seeing women underemployed.
Too bad, so sad, yeah right.