Clinton, Inc. by Daniel Halper

Author:Daniel Halper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

7

The Bubble

“She made, I believe, personal judgment calls that turned out to be the wrong call and it cost people their lives.”

—U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz

On January 21, 2009, Hillary Clinton was confirmed as U.S. secretary of state by an overwhelming majority of senators, 94–2. The only two votes in opposition to her appointment came from two conservative Republican senators: David Vitter of Louisiana and Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Perhaps it was odd that none of the members of the Senate who had voted to convict President Clinton on two articles impeachment opposed Hillary’s nomination. But all of Clinton’s would-be opposition had been won over in the intervening years. Both Vitter and DeMint were sworn in as senators in 2005, and seemed to have little if no relationship with Hillary during their short overlapping times.

“This nation has come together in a way that it has not for some time,” McCain said, praising the confirmation of Hillary.1

Until January 22, 2009, Hillary Clinton had managed only two things of any major significance: her universal health-care plan, during the early days of her husband’s administration, and her 2008 presidential effort. Both, even her staunchest supporters would admit, were notorious disasters—practically from start to finish. So with her third time up to the plate, and with a chance to show her managerial bona fides, there was enormous pressure for her to succeed when she arrived for the first time at the State Department offices in Foggy Bottom to cheering employees.

While running the department once led by Thomas Jefferson and George Marshall provides great prestige, it also poses unique challenges to even the most experienced diplomat: It’s a massive federal bureaucracy with a budget of over $45 billion per year, a staff of over fifty-eight thousand, and locations all over the world.

As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton was at first determined to do more than manage a large bureaucracy and improve her own image. For the top diplomat, the State Department is a great platform and Hillary Clinton was determined to make the most of it. According to sources, she made a genuine effort early on to push issues close to her heart, assert herself in meetings with other principals in the administration, and make her mark on the policies and priorities of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Just as one would expect from a secretary of state, she immediately made plans to go abroad. But instead of a visit to Canada or Europe or to another traditional ally, Hillary decided to visit Asia—first Japan, then Indonesia and South Korea, before finishing in China. The entire trip was set up to show a “pivot” toward emerging allies in the East and to show that America under this new president would have different priorities.

She’d join the press on the back of her airplane for an off-the-record conversation, which a participant described as surprisingly frank. Most principals even in technically “off-the-record” sessions know better than to dish and to go off talking points. They assume that eventually the conversation will be leaked.

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