ALBANY, New York – Gov. David Paterson has picked Democratic U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill New York’s vacant U.S. Senate seat, an aide to the governor said early Friday, a day after Caroline Kennedy abruptly withdrew from consideration.

WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton took charge of the State Department on Thursday, proclaiming the start of a new era of robust U.S. diplomacy to tackle the world’s crises and improve America’s standing abroad.

Before a raucous, cheering crowd of about 1,000 people, the nation’s 67th secretary of state pledged to boost the morale and resources of the diplomatic corps and promised them a difficult but exciting road ahead.

“I believe with all of my heart that this is a new era for America,” she said to loud applause in the main lobby of the department’s headquarters, which President Barack Obama will visit later Thursday to underscore his administration’s commitment to diplomacy and announce the appointment of special envoys to the Middle East and South Asia.

“This is going to be a challenging time and it will require 21st Century tools and solutions to meet our problems and seize our opportunities,” Clinton said. “I’m going to be asking a lot of you. I want you to think outside the proverbial box. I want you to give me the best advice you can.”

“I want you to understand there is nothing that I welcome more than a good debate and the kind of dialogue that will make us better,” she said. “We cannot be our best if we don’t demand that from ourselves and each other.”

In her spirited 10-minute pep talk, she spoke of the importance of defense, diplomacy and development – the “three legs to the stool of American foreign policy” – and noted that the State Department is in charge of two of them.

“We are responsible for two of the three legs,” said the former New York senator and first lady. “And we will make clear as we go forward that diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of the United States.”

Clinton’s mandate from Obama is to step up diplomatic efforts and restore the nation’s tattered image overseas. She has vowed to make use of “smart power” to deal with international challenges.

“At the heart of smart power are smart people, and you are those people,” she told the assembled throng. “And you are the ones that we will count on and turn to for the advice and counsel, the expertise and experience to make good on the promises of this new administration.”

Clinton takes over an agency that was often sidelined during George W. Bush’s eight-year presidency, particularly in his first term over the decision to go to war in Iraq. Although former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice restored some of the department’s influence, diplomats still complained of a lack of access to the top, as well as funding.

In introductory remarks, Steve Kashkett, vice president of the union that represents diplomats, noted that Obama and Clinton had both “decried the neglect that the foreign service and the State Department as a whole have suffered in recent years.”

Clinton, meanwhile, sought to reassure frustrated diplomats that they will be heard.

“This is a team, and you are the members of that team,” she said. “We are not any longer going to tolerate the kind of divisiveness that has paralyzed and undermined our ability to get things done for America.”

She predicted her team would experience “a great adventure. We’ll have some ups and some downs. We’ll face some obstacles along the way. But be of good cheer and be of strong heart, and do not grow weary as we attempt to do good on behalf of our country and the world. … And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get to work.”

After her remarks, Clinton made telephone calls to foreign leaders, toured some of the department’s key offices and received briefings before hosting Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and national security adviser James Jones. They are to meet in a closed-door session before Obama addresses the diplomatic corps.

While he is at the State Department, the president is expected to name former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, D-Maine, to be a special envoy for the Middle East, and former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke to be a special adviser on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The posts are the first of several new special envoys the administration plans to create to deal with particularly vexing problems abroad.

The Senate has confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton to become secretary of state.

The Senate vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the former first lady despite lingering concerns by some Republicans that her husband’s charitable fundraising overseas could pose a conflict of interest.

Republicans and Democrat alike say her swift confirmation was necessary so that President Barack Obama could begin tackling the major foreign policy issues at hand, including two wars, increased violence in the Middle East and the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Immediately after the vote, Clinton was to be sworn in during a private ceremony at the Capitol.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Caroline Kennedy is meeting with upstate New York politicians and power brokers as she begins her campaign for the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
 
The daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy is favored to take the seat should Clinton be confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state.

The outreach that Kennedy started Wednesday in cities including Syracuse is similar to Clinton’s “listening tour” in 1999 and 2000 when she first ran for the Senate.

Like Clinton, Kennedy faces criticism because she’s never been elected to public office. Some also worry she would favor New York City interests over the rest of the state.

The New York Times reports that Caroline Kennedy will ask Gov. David A. Paterson of New York to consider her for the appointment.

WASHINGTON – New York Republican congressman Peter King told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he is preparing for a run for the New York Senate seat, even if that means facing off against Caroline Kennedy.

“I am seriously considering the race for Hillary Clinton’s seat,” King told The AP. “I’m very serious about it.”
 
The eight-term lawmaker from Long Island said New York’s GOP chairman Joseph Mondello “supports me 100 percent,” and that state Conservative Party chair Michael Long has responded positively.

The son of an NYPD lieutenant, King said he “would genuinely represent the interests of blue-collar conservatives.”

King’s announcement is the latest twist in a political drama over who will succeed Clinton should she be confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state.

Her successor would be appointed by New York Gov. David Paterson, and about a dozen Democrats are vying for that position. Kennedy’s family has said she is interested in the seat.

Whoever is appointed would hold the job for two years, and run for election in 2010, against King or some other New York Republican.

King said the appointment of Kennedy would not scare him out of the campaign.

“Obviously it would be a challenge to run against Caroline Kennedy. She has the name identification and for all I know she’s a wonderful person. But this is not an anti-Kennedy campaign,” he said. “Nothing in life is easy. If anything, that makes the adrenaline pump a little harder.”

King, 64, is the senior Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee.

“All my life I’ve been involved in New York issues and certainly since Sept. 11. I think I have as great a knowledge as anyone on homeland security and the threats to New York,” he said.

He ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general in 1986, and has flirted with running for statewide office in recent years. He said his decision on whether to enter the Senate race will depend on how much money he can raise, since he estimates it will cost $35 million to $40 million to be competitive.

ALBANY, N.Y. – The politician picked to succeed U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will need more than policy smarts.

Enthusiasm for visits to Buffalo and Chemung County will be important, too.

Clinton and New York’s senior senator, Charles Schumer, have been aggressively riding the upstate circuit for so many years that senatorial visits are now the norm from the Southern Tier to the North Country. It’s not enough for New York senators to talk about dairy issues, they are expected to visit the farm.

“I think it means a lot to people. In fact, Schumer and Clinton have set a standard that others will be held against,” said Bob Grady, editor of the Press-Republican of Plattsburgh, near the Canadian border. “And if they don’t, they’ll hear about it.”

Clinton is expected to switch her attention from Watertown to Waziristan next year as President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state. Fellow Democrat Gov. David Paterson will pick her successor.

If he chooses someone from downstate, like Caroline Kennedy or Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the onus will be on the new senator to not only find Elmira on the map, but to stop by occasionally.

Lee Miringoff of the Marist Poll notes that upstate New York, once reliably safe Republican territory, has become more competitive for Democrats in recent years. That explains why Democrats like Schumer (New York City), Clinton (Westchester County) and her presumably Democratic successor would be especially attentive to upstate voters.

Frequent visits can defuse resentments among upstate voters who might think they are being neglected. And they help senators avoid the stigma of being an out-of-touch city slicker. In one cautionary incident reported by The New Republic in 1994, Republican lieutenant governor candidate Elizabeth McCaughey asked what was planted in a field passing by her car window in western New York.

“I’ve never seen that before,” she reportedly said.

She was told it was corn.

Long Island-bred former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato made a point of rubbing shoulders with upstate voters, a habit that contrasted with the more intellectual and aloof late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

But it was the man who defeated D’Amato, Schumer, who set the standard for upstate barnstorming.

Schumer has visited all 62 counties in New York every year since being elected to the Senate in 1998, even as his responsibilities in Washington have grown. The only counties left on his list this year are Madison and Schenectady (he is scheduled to visit both before year’s end).

Clinton followed Schumer’s playbook from the get-go, launching her maiden Senate campaign with an announcement at Moynihan’s upstate farm followed by her now-famous listening tour. After taking office in 2001, she frequently visited apple orchards and little towns in all corners of New York. Along with her work on Iraq and homeland security, she made efforts to get Finger Lakes Rieslings served in Manhattan restaurants.

The work paid off. Tarred as a carpetbagger when she originally ran for the Senate, she leaves office a popular politician upstate.

“She delivered,” the Daily Freeman of Kingston editorialized on Dec. 4.

It’s possible Paterson will pick a non-downstate senator, which would be a novelty. Moynihan, a Washington veteran who was raised in New York City, listed his Delaware County farm as his home. A stronger upstate claim might be made for Jamestown-bred Charles Goodell, who was appointed in 1968 to fill the unexpired term of Robert F. Kennedy. Goodell lost an election in 1970.

Caroline Kennedy is just one of the names being floated as Clinton successors; there are plenty of others. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is widely known in the state. Paterson could also pick Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown or Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. There are also several House members in the running.

The frequent flier mandate is likely to continue no matter who is appointed, especially since the appointee will face the electorate in their second year on the job.

“They’re going to have start thinking 2010 right off the bat,” Miringoff said.

(Richmond Times-Dispatch, 12-02-08)

William Seward and Salmon Chase contended against Abraham Lincoln for the 1860 GOP presidential nomination. After his election, Lincoln named Seward his secretary of state and Chase his secretary of treasury. Their nominations suggested not only Lincoln’s magnanimity but his leadership.

Yesterday, a president-elect from Illinois made his chief competitor for the 2008 Democratic nomination his secretary of state. Obama does not mind sharing the spotlight; this is a gesture of supreme self-confidence.
Hillary Clinton will serve in the Cabinet’s most visible position. As the nation’s ranking diplomat, she will project America’s face to the world. During the primaries, she questioned Obama’s experience; she tried to sound more bellicose. Primaries tend to exaggerate differences, and, indeed, the two were closer than their rhetoric and postures may have led their more enthusiastic supporters to suspect. Their differences related not to world-view but to emphasis.

Regarding Clinton’s nomination, George Shultz — Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state —says: “I think she could be a very good secretary of state. She is well-informed, she’s got lots of energy — intellectual energy and physical energy — to do the job. She’s curious. She reads. She works very hard. She can listen. And she’s known around the world, so she has standing. All those things would stand her in good stead.”

Foreign policy during her husband’s administration was notable for missed opportunities. That seems unlikely to recur, if only because the Obama team will confront a slate of vexing global issues. Global economic crisis, twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, deteriorating circumstances in South Asia, Russian mischief: These cannot be avoided. Obama and Clinton might fail, but they seem unlikely to miss things, except for the inevitable unanticipated events.

The next four years will see a U.S. more amenable to international organizations such as the United Nations. Yet it would not be surprising if, when Obama-Clinton believed vital interests were endangered, the U.S. acted unilaterally. Much of the “change” involves image, although in foreign policy image can assume substance.

We would have preferred to see national security in the hands of John McCain and Joe Lieberman. We also like what a team of Clinton, Robert Gates (retained as secretary of defense), and Marine Gen. Jim Jones (national security adviser) says about Obama personally. The two dominant presidents of the 20th century — Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan — shared first-class temperaments. Obama apparently does, too.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, N.C. — When George Bush played host two weeks ago to the G-20 gathering of the world’s leading economic powers, it was apparent that they believed America’s economic power in the world has declined. Their question was: Can Barack Obama restore America’s financial health and regain its commanding international position?

Bush came under heavy pressure from the Europeans last month to call this meeting soon after the U.S. elections because of the world’s financial crisis. He told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that the G-8 group, which has dominated economic relations for 25 years, must be expanded and include such major new players as China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.

By this action, Bush may have earned himself the legacy of being the first American president to open the world’s financial club to a more representative array of economic players, to replace the European/American/Japanese centered G-8.

Barack Obama, as president, will inherit responsibility for managing America’s recovery from the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. His appointment of Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary should reassure bankers and investors at home and abroad that this key department will be led by an experienced, highly competent person.

OBAMA’S REPORTED choice of Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state generated great interest both at home and abroad. Supporters say her appointment to this important post will heal scars in the Democratic Party left by her failure to win the nomination for president and Obama’s failure to select her as his running mate. Skeptics wonder whether Bill Clinton’s desire to play a role in international affairs can be limited.

A larger, crucial question, is whether President Obama and a Secretary Clinton will forge a close partnership on foreign policy and speak with one voice to the world’s leaders. For example, will their working relationship be as close as George H.W. Bush’s was with James Baker, his chief diplomat, or Richard Nixon’s ties were with Henry Kissinger, his national security adviser and eventually secretary of state?

The selection of retired Gen. James Jones, former supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, as national security adviser gives Obama, who has little experience in that field, a highly regarded military adviser with broad foreign policy experience. Jones will also be of great help in working with the Pentagon, where Robert Gates, who performed exceptionally well for the past two years, reportedly has agreed to stay on as defense secretary.

The Obama-Clinton relationship will be tested quickly in the Middle East, specifically on relations with Iran and on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Shifting some U.S. military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan next year will also be a challenge.

But a disturbing, longer-range challenge facing the incoming administration is how to deal with the increasingly assertive leaders of Russia, President Dimitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

MOSCOW’S invasion of neighboring Georgia last August and its refusal to join European and American efforts to impose tough economic sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program causes NATO to question Russia’s intentions.

Within hours of Barack Obama’s election on Nov. 4, Medvedev threw cold water on his celebration by publicly threatening to place missiles on the borders of Poland and Lithuania, both NATO countries, if the new administration installs a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Although Bush administration officials argue that the defense shield is directed at Iran’s nuclear threat and offers Russia an opportunity to join, Moscow views a U.S. missile installation so close to its borders as a vital national interest, equivalent to putting a Russian base in Venezuela or Nicaragua.

Is it possible that the incoming President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton could negotiate a compromise with Moscow? For example: In return for Washington’s suspending plans for a defense shield in Poland, Moscow agrees to exert real pressure on Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program. If Iran can be persuaded to abandon plans to become a nuclear power, there would be no need for a U.S. defense shield in Poland.

Another potential negotiation with Russia might be: in return for its guaranteeing an uninterrupted flow of natural gas to Western Europe, NATO would put off plans to offer membership to Ukraine and Georgia, another grievance of Medvedev and Putin.

Barack Obama expressed interest during the election campaign in talking with this country’s adversaries and trying to reach accommodations. Moscow might be a good place to start.

This editorial appeared in the Richmond times Dispatch Nov. 29. Courtesy of Media General News Service. Donald Nuechterlein teaches American foreign policy at the University of Virginia and is the author of numerous books in the field. Contact him at nuechtd@cstone.net.