Clinton Moves to Beef Up State

... and Hillary won't leave for Middle East until Saturday

(NEWSER) - It looks like Bill Clinton will only spend one night in the hospital after undergoing an emergency heart procedure today—and wife Hillary will merely postpone her diplomatic trip to the Middle East by a day. “He’s in good spirits, and we hope to have him go home tomorrow,” says the New York doctor who performed the stent procedure on the former president. “He’s fine,” a Clinton source tells CNN . More»

Blunt talk and campaign-style events ruffle some diplomatic feathers

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton has impressed many in her 8 months as secretary of state but her own leadership aspirations are sometimes all too obvious, Glenn Kessler writes at the Washington Post. Clinton has forged close working relationships with other Cabinet members and made her desire to cooperate clear, Kessler writes, but she has also seemed out of step with the administration at times, and analysts see her as pursuing her own agenda on issues like women's rights. More»

Facing do-everything White House, Hillary reasserts herself

(NEWSER) - Yesterday Hillary Clinton delivered an ambitious, muscular speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, in which she warned Iran of further sanctions while defending Barack Obama's policy of multifront diplomacy with rogue states. After months in the shadows, writes New York Times reporter Mark Landler, the secretary of State wanted to make a splash. Faced with a strong White House, Clinton reasserted her allegiance to the president, but also defended her turf as the nation's top diplomat. More»

Retiring secretary of state has won Obama's admiration

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton has kept a low profile at the G20 summit, ceding the spotlight to Barack Obama and Tim Geithner, and when she and the president travel to NATO summit and EU meetings over the next few days she may not utter a single word in public. But while the secretary of state is out of the spotlight, her influence in the Obama administration is rising. As the New York Times reports, Clinton's pragmatism and collegial approach have greatly impressed her former rival. More»

(NEWSER) - As Hillary Clinton takes over the State Department, it's worth remembering that her train-wreck presidential campaign followed an "audacious 2000 run for Senate" and an excellent record as a legislator, Michael Crowley writes for the New Republic. "The question—not only for Hillary's legacy but for US foreign policy—is which of these models she will bring to" her new job, Crowley observes. More»