What's the next step for Hillary Clinton?
By Matthew Lee |
February 17, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HILLARY Rodham Clinton's plan for 2013 was simple.
She'd embark on an epic swansong around the world as US secretary of state, a dizzying itinerary that would take her past 1 million miles in the air at the helm of American diplomacy and perhaps break her own record of 112 countries visited while in the post. Then, there would be a long rest, time and work with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, on development issues and a sequel to her 2003 memoir "Living History."
Finally, she'd make a destiny-defining decision: whether to try again to become America's first female president.
Her health got in the way: a nasty stomach virus while returning from a week long trip to Europe, exhaustion, severe dehydration, a faint, a fall and a concussion that led to a brief hospitalization when doctors discovered a blood clot near her brain. The woman who'd seemed to lay the perfect groundwork for another presidential bid was sidelined by circumstances beyond her control.
It was a rare sign of vulnerability in what had been a carefully charted four years, where as a peace mediator, international enforcer and global ambassador of America she fully emerged from the shadow of her husband. But it was not the only sign.
Weighing 2016
Even before her ailments, people close to her were debating pros and cons of another presidential run. Would it be worth the time, energy and especially money - her 2008 campaign debt was just retired in January - and would it spark a new round of personal attacks on her, her husband and her character?
Polls show her as the popular favorite for 2016; no Democrat is better placed right now to unify the party. With instant national appeal and the highest approval ratings of her political career, she would also presumably have a head start on any Republican in a general election. And at age 69, she'd hardly be too old. She'd be five years younger than Vice President Joe Biden, a possible rival.
Yet any sense of inevitably is decidedly premature. After all, Clinton was considered the prohibitive favorite for the 2008 Democratic nomination for several years, right up until Obama beat her in Iowa. Like Obama, some of the potential contenders for 2016 are largely unknown quantities whose strengths cannot yet be measured.
Some of that hard-earned respect would vanish the moment she re-emerges as the face of the Democratic Party and becomes a critical player in rancorous debates over immigration, abortion, debt, taxes, health care and more.
What's next?
Asked on the eve of her departure if she still had contributions to make, she replied "absolutely," but stressed that the how and when were not yet clear.
"I haven't decided yet," she said. "I really haven't yet. I have deliberately cabined it off. I am going to be secretary of state until I walk out the door. Then I am going to take the weekend off and then I may start thinking about various offers, requests and ideas that have come my way."
It was not always an easy path. Early on as secretary, amid talk that she was losing influence within the administration, Clinton embarked on a lengthy trip to Africa, only to be upstaged by the arrival of her husband and his entourage in North Korea to free two American journalists.
Despite a historic visit to war-ravaged Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the seven-nation, 11-day tour of the continent is best remembered for her testy exchange with a student in Kinshasa who asked what Bill Clinton thought about Chinese influence in Africa. "You want me to tell you what my husband thinks?" she asked. "My husband is not the secretary of state. I am. So, you ask my opinion, I will tell you my opinion. I'm not going to be channeling my husband."
In an early embarrassment, she presented a Russian official with a button that was supposed to say "reset," conveying the administration's wish to mend Kremlin ties. The button had been erroneously translated into Russian and read "overcharged."
Missions unaccomplished
Yet Clinton leaves with many international crises unresolved, such as Syria's civil war and Egypt's democratic future. The US-Israel alliance is on shaky ground, terrorism is on the rise in North Africa, there's an unclear endgame to the Afghanistan war and Israelis and Palestinians are no closer to a two-state peace solution than they were four years ago. And, despite endless warnings, Iran's nuclear program has moved closer to weapons capacity.
In all, she spent 401 days on overseas travel and almost three months in the air.
She dealt confidently with the first major hiccup of her watch, the release of hundreds of thousands of classified State Department cables by WikiLeaks, causing deep embarrassment as it laid bare confidential and often harsh assessments of foreign leaders by US diplomats around the world and put several informants at risk.
In her final months as secretary of state, Clinton helped secure a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and ordered a series of changes in the operations of her department in response to the Benghazi attack.
She has remained committed to core issues such as women and children in developing economies and civil society in repressive countries - issues she has tried to elevate to an equal diplomatic footing with peace processes and trade talks.
She'd embark on an epic swansong around the world as US secretary of state, a dizzying itinerary that would take her past 1 million miles in the air at the helm of American diplomacy and perhaps break her own record of 112 countries visited while in the post. Then, there would be a long rest, time and work with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, on development issues and a sequel to her 2003 memoir "Living History."
Finally, she'd make a destiny-defining decision: whether to try again to become America's first female president.
Her health got in the way: a nasty stomach virus while returning from a week long trip to Europe, exhaustion, severe dehydration, a faint, a fall and a concussion that led to a brief hospitalization when doctors discovered a blood clot near her brain. The woman who'd seemed to lay the perfect groundwork for another presidential bid was sidelined by circumstances beyond her control.
It was a rare sign of vulnerability in what had been a carefully charted four years, where as a peace mediator, international enforcer and global ambassador of America she fully emerged from the shadow of her husband. But it was not the only sign.
Weighing 2016
Even before her ailments, people close to her were debating pros and cons of another presidential run. Would it be worth the time, energy and especially money - her 2008 campaign debt was just retired in January - and would it spark a new round of personal attacks on her, her husband and her character?
Polls show her as the popular favorite for 2016; no Democrat is better placed right now to unify the party. With instant national appeal and the highest approval ratings of her political career, she would also presumably have a head start on any Republican in a general election. And at age 69, she'd hardly be too old. She'd be five years younger than Vice President Joe Biden, a possible rival.
Yet any sense of inevitably is decidedly premature. After all, Clinton was considered the prohibitive favorite for the 2008 Democratic nomination for several years, right up until Obama beat her in Iowa. Like Obama, some of the potential contenders for 2016 are largely unknown quantities whose strengths cannot yet be measured.
Some of that hard-earned respect would vanish the moment she re-emerges as the face of the Democratic Party and becomes a critical player in rancorous debates over immigration, abortion, debt, taxes, health care and more.
What's next?
Asked on the eve of her departure if she still had contributions to make, she replied "absolutely," but stressed that the how and when were not yet clear.
"I haven't decided yet," she said. "I really haven't yet. I have deliberately cabined it off. I am going to be secretary of state until I walk out the door. Then I am going to take the weekend off and then I may start thinking about various offers, requests and ideas that have come my way."
It was not always an easy path. Early on as secretary, amid talk that she was losing influence within the administration, Clinton embarked on a lengthy trip to Africa, only to be upstaged by the arrival of her husband and his entourage in North Korea to free two American journalists.
Despite a historic visit to war-ravaged Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the seven-nation, 11-day tour of the continent is best remembered for her testy exchange with a student in Kinshasa who asked what Bill Clinton thought about Chinese influence in Africa. "You want me to tell you what my husband thinks?" she asked. "My husband is not the secretary of state. I am. So, you ask my opinion, I will tell you my opinion. I'm not going to be channeling my husband."
In an early embarrassment, she presented a Russian official with a button that was supposed to say "reset," conveying the administration's wish to mend Kremlin ties. The button had been erroneously translated into Russian and read "overcharged."
Missions unaccomplished
Yet Clinton leaves with many international crises unresolved, such as Syria's civil war and Egypt's democratic future. The US-Israel alliance is on shaky ground, terrorism is on the rise in North Africa, there's an unclear endgame to the Afghanistan war and Israelis and Palestinians are no closer to a two-state peace solution than they were four years ago. And, despite endless warnings, Iran's nuclear program has moved closer to weapons capacity.
In all, she spent 401 days on overseas travel and almost three months in the air.
She dealt confidently with the first major hiccup of her watch, the release of hundreds of thousands of classified State Department cables by WikiLeaks, causing deep embarrassment as it laid bare confidential and often harsh assessments of foreign leaders by US diplomats around the world and put several informants at risk.
In her final months as secretary of state, Clinton helped secure a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and ordered a series of changes in the operations of her department in response to the Benghazi attack.
She has remained committed to core issues such as women and children in developing economies and civil society in repressive countries - issues she has tried to elevate to an equal diplomatic footing with peace processes and trade talks.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
