"At State, Clinton reaches out and widens her circle; Bounces back from troubles on campaign trail" by Lois Romano, Washington Post | March 21, 2010
WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton ran a presidential campaign notoriously insular and unhappy, managing a group of egos and backstabbers whose dysfunction may have cost her the White House. Understandably, people wondered what kind of management style she would bring to the State Department.
Do I look like it? Do I care?
But a little over a year into her tenure as secretary of state, allies and detractors alike say Clinton has made a vigorous effort to widen her circle, pulling into her orbit the agency’s Foreign Service and civil service officials, many of whom said that she has brought a new energy to the building....
That a knock on Condoleezza Rice!
To be sure, Clinton has her share of critics who say that she has ceded too much power to special envoys and that she has been in a global campaign mode of relentless image-building, intense travel, and international media cultivation.
Yeah, thanks for gassing up the global warming with the globe-trotting on taxpayer dime building up your image, but....
Her approval ratings top President Obama’s.
The one-termer?
One loyalist inside the agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid, suggested that Clinton has not narrowed her goals or developed signature issues that will define her tenure....
Stewart Patrick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who worked at the State Department under Colin Powell, agreed that Clinton “seems to still be struggling with priorities’’ and questioned whether she has a “grand strategic vision.’’
I'm sick of this s***, readers.
See: PNAC
That's the vision -- all for Israel.
But “there is no question from a public diplomacy standpoint, she has had a lot to offer in different parts of the world’’ because of her star power, he said. And inside the agency, “people invested in the institution are quite happy with things. Here’s a woman who everyone expected to be circling the wagons and running the place with a small coterie, and that hasn’t happened.’’
Meanwhile, the planet is on fire.
It is well known that Clinton has long placed a high premium on loyalty — some say too high.
To the CONSTITUTION, not her, right?
And at State, she is still surrounded by advisers from her days as a first lady and a senator, often referred to as Hillaryland. In addition, her vast network of former White House, Senate, and campaign aides permeates every floor of the building.
More like Hitleryland, but....
But even before her confirmation, Clinton was expanding Hillaryland: She asked two popular Foreign Service officers to stay on, Kennedy and William Burns, undersecretary for political affairs. She has approached this new constituency of 60,000 worldwide like a seasoned politician trying to shore up support.
Because she plans to be President?
Those interviewed inside and outside the agency say Clinton has headed off the historical tensions between career employees and quadrennial political newcomers by relying on the counsel of senior Foreign Service operatives and reaching out in general.
Clinton has walked the halls and popped into offices, created an electronic “sounding board,’’ and held seven meetings to listen to gripes about everything from policy to cafeteria food.
Oh, it must be a fantastic place to work!
She installed six new showers that joggers requested, is taking steps to remedy overseas pay inequities, and instituted a policy that allows partners of gay diplomats to receive benefits.
I don't care about that last issue so much, Americans; however, THOSE are YOUR TAX DOLLARS at work for YOU?
You know we are running a deficit this year alone around $1.5 TRILLION, right?
So when do I get a shower installed at my house?
She became a heroine to the Foreign Service when she went to bat to get funding for 3,000 new Foreign Service positions for State operations and the US Agency for International Development — the first boost of this magnitude in two decades.
USAID = CIA.
Related: A Diplomatic CIA
Yeah. Whole department must be full of 'em.
Jeffrey Feltman, assistant secretary for the Near East, is one of those whom Clinton surprised — and won over. He was already looking for a new job when she tracked him down 24 hours after she was sworn in to seek his advice. A few weeks later, she asked him to stay on....
Jee, I can't imaJine why, can you?
