Hillary Clinton would bring star power to State Department

Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers • Published November 21, 2008

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WASHINGTON — She's been a mother, a lawyer and a first lady, an aggrieved wife, a U.S. senator and a nearly victorious candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now Hillary Clinton appears set to take on a new role: secretary of state.

The New York Times reported Friday afternoon on its Web site that she will accept the job, and that it's been offered to her. Neither her office nor the transition office of President-elect Barack Obama would confirm the report, though insiders in both camps acknowledged that the job negotiations between the two were "on track."

The junior senator from New York appears to bring much to the job, assuming she is nominated and confirmed, not the least of which is instant international name recognition.

Whether it's flying into war-torn foreign capitals, trying to convince Arabs and Israelis that she means what she says, or presiding over international conferences, star power is a potent weapon, as the last two secretaries of state, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, well knew.

However, Clinton has never — at least publicly — been a global visionary or foreign policy intellectual, leaving it unclear how she would steer America's role in the world or act as steward of U.S. alliances.

A 2007 article she wrote as a presidential candidate for Foreign Affairs magazine was filled with familiar calls to rebuild alliances and restore U.S. leadership, but was spare on details.

Moreover, it remains to be seen where Clinton and the long-underfunded State Department will fit in an Obama administration where, it appears, much foreign policy will be run out of the White House and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden is a heavyweight on international affairs.

There's another, bigger wild card: Never before has a secretary of state had a former president for a spouse. The role of Bill Clinton, with his network of international friends and financial connections, could be a study in tightrope-walking.