WASHINGTON -- I have been following Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton's first foreign policy jaunt with my customary
discernment in matters regarding the Clintons. Frankly I am very
uncomfortable with her title, secretary of state. She termed her
Asian trip a "listening tour." Does that bring back memories? She
met with foreign leaders but she commanded more attention for
meeting with "giggly" students on campus and appearing on an
Indonesian variety show called "Awesome." There she discoursed on
the pop culture of teenagers but demurred when asked to sing. She
mugged for the paparazzi, glad-handed crowds and explained her
informality as "a way that is not traditional, not confined by
the ministerial greeting and the staged handshake photo."
So after watching this trivialization of statecraft, I shall
continue to think of the former senator from New York not as
Secretary of State Clinton but as candidate Clinton. Not
surprisingly, candidate Clinton has brought to the State
Department the most politically seasoned staff ever. As she
campaigned in Asia, she was accompanied by at least two of her
longtime political operatives. One is Huma Abedin, from candidate
Clinton's days on the Hill. Abedin carries the title "senior
adviser." What she knows about foreign policy remains a mystery,
but she knows the Clinton political operation. On this trip,
according to the Washington
Post, Abedin "silently will hand Clinton a glass of
water when her voice rasps during a briefing." Another veteran
Clintonista on the trip has been Kiki McLean, a former press aide
to Bill Clinton in his days as governor.
There are more Clintonistas joining candidate Clinton at the
State Department, which suggests there will be friction ahead
between her political operatives and diplomats and foreign policy
specialists who are supposed to be untainted by politics.
Candidate Clinton is bringing as her chief of staff Cheryl Mills,
the Clinton loyalist who as White House lawyer in 1999 spoke
ardently on the House floor against the Boy President's
impeachment. Philippe Reines, press secretary for Hillary on the
Hill, will play that role at State. The candidate is also
bringing along Lissa Muscatine, her speechwriter from yesteryear,
and scheduler Lona Valmoro. Even the Clintons' old aide Maggie
Williams is working for Hillary, though perhaps not this week.
Socks, the White House cat, has passed away. Like the Clintons'
famous dog, Buddy, the expiry took place while the Clintons were
on the road. Doubtless it is only a matter of time before the
Clintons' loyal factotum Sidney Blumenthal moves into a State
Department office and talk of conspiracies against the candidate
begins -- how about a "Vast State Department Conspiracy"?
Another reason it is difficult for me to take Hillary seriously
as the nation's top diplomat is that she is bringing to this high
cabinet post, the incongruous girlishness that she always brings
to public life. There is nothing new about a woman secretary of
state. The post has been held by Madeleine Albright and
Condoleezza Rice. Neither displayed a hint of girlishness.
Neither continued Hillary's adolescent competition of the boys
against the girls.
In Asia candidate Clinton, according to the New
York Times, answered questions from a "giggly" Korean
girl about "how she knew she had fallen in love with her
husband." As aforementioned she talked in Indonesia about her
love of rock and roll, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (she is
61 years old and apparently locked in a time warp, with no
development in her musical tastes for forty years). In Tokyo, the
Times reports, a "nervous young woman" asked candidate
Clinton how she might "become as strong as she [Candidate
Clinton] was." Hillary responded: "Well, I played a lot of
baseball and I played with a lot of boys." Can you imagine
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, say while dealing with China,
being asked how he knew he had fallen in love with his beautiful
wife Nancy? Can you imagine Secretary Kissinger explaining the
strength of his personality by telling a Japanese youth, "Well, I
played a lot of baseball, and I played with a lot of girls"?
Throughout her public life Hillary Clinton has proved to be a
formidable figure not because of her intelligence and certainly
not because of her high moral character. She has been propelled
to the heights of public life because she is an exhibitionist.
Many of our public figures are. There is very little in their
lives that is too personal for them to publicize and to exploit
in seeking attention. This is one of the reasons our public
leaders are so mediocre. They are celebrities.
topics:
Hillary Clinton
