Where Does Hillary's Record As Secretary Of State Stand With 2 Years To Go?

In contrast to Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post, who writes that other than for last week's Wikileaks debacle, Hillary Clinton has had "an otherwise pristine record", Jennifer Rubin points out the other blotches on Hillary Clinton's spotty record as Secretary of State:

The Honduras "coup" debacle, the strained relationship with Israel, the failure to sustain peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians (as the Bush administration did), the frosty relationship with European allies, the failure of "smart" diplomacy in Syria and Egypt and the Middle East more generally, a human rights policy that is roundly criticized from the right and the left, increased aggression from North Korea, the ongoing embarrassment of our participation in the Orwellian named U.N. Human Rights Commission, the botched pull-out of our anti-missile sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, the deficient response to the June 12 Iranian election, the failure to support robustly the Green Movement, and, most seriously, the failure to slow Iran's march toward membership in the nuclear power club. (The Senate, according to key aides, is contemplating measures to compensate for the lack of progress by the administration.)

Rubin admits that this may not necessarily be all of Hillary Clinton's doing, but she does believe that Hillary Clinton has one of the worst records of any secretary of state--and that includes during the Jimmy Carter presidency. And if indeed these errors are not due to Clinton herself, then she is merely one of the least influential secretaries of state we have ever had.

Strong words for the woman that just 3 years ago was considered by many to be a shoo-in for the most powerful position in the world. Then again, as the wife of the president she was able to wield power from behind the scenes without necessarily being under the glare of the spotlight and the criticism it brings.

Perhaps, like Obama, she is discovering that in the end--cleverness and political savvy on the international scene require leadership and  people skills that go beyond merely bullying the opposition.

Jennifer Rubin concludes:

Clinton says this will be her last role in government. If so, she'd better pick up the pace, or it will be a sorry conclusion to her career.

And it's not going to get any easier from now to the end.

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