Secretary Christopher on Secretary Clinton
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| AP Photo/Charles Dharapak |
In the swirl from rumor to hardening assumption that President-elect Barack Obama is about to name Sen. Hillary Clinton as his secretary of State, one person with a unique vantage point on the decision is Los Angeles' own Warren Christopher, who served as secretary of State in the first Bill Clinton administration.
Friday, he was peppered with questions about the possibility of a Clinton occupying his old office. Here is Secretary Christopher's response:
Senator Clinton is a naturally gifted diplomat and would be an inspired choice, if she is chosen by President-elect Obama as secretary of State.
She took many foreign trips during my time as secretary, leading delegations to China, Pakistan, India, the Balkans, and Latin America. She always prepared carefully before she left, and effectively handled official sessions with leaders as well as large public events. Reports on her travels were uniformly positive, often coming from hard-to-please foreign service officers. Particularly impressive was her leadership of our delegation to the 1995 U.N. conference on women in Beijing, where her memorable speech on human rights evoked a standing ovation.
Once officially announced as President Elect Obama’s choice for Secretary of State and before her Senate confirmation Hillary Clinton will begin to publically reinvent herself. She will clearly demonstrate her readiness and willingness to serve her country as Secretary of State under President Obama and will present her vision and indicate what her approach and her goals will be as head of the State Department. I can only wonder if the new Hillary will sport a new hairdo and wardrobe as well.
Posted by: Robert | November 21, 2008 at 04:52 PM
Warren Christopher was chiefly responsible for Jimmy Carter's horrible policies towards Iran in the late 70's. As sec. of state under Clinton he was a disaster once again. His opinion on this matter scares me. He was a horrible Sec. of State..He should just be quiet.
Posted by: jsam | November 22, 2008 at 08:33 AM
So now Hillary is NOT a monster, a war-monger, untrustworthy liar?
Whose the real fibber? Obama has backtracked on so many of his promises it could make your head spin. One of the worst was the promise to pay Hillary's campaign debt. Of course, he didn't keep his promise even though he raised almost $700,000,000 and continues to raise obscene amounts of cash through the sale of his endless biographies and left-over campaign junk.
If he can't be trusted on this small thing she can't trust him on anything.
Posted by: Trish | November 22, 2008 at 11:19 PM
Hillary does not need vetting. It's Obama who needs vetting. But one can't expect the Los Angeles Times to do anything but trash her and kiss the ring of the incompetent would-be presidentthey forced down our throats.
Obama's minions can't refrain from boasting about Hillary's subservience to the O great One. But the truth is, now that the UghObama must govern he must surround himself with Clintons to save his sorry hide.
Posted by: Trish | November 22, 2008 at 11:24 PM