Academics, big names from the media, global business people, Washington's foreign policy elite -- all had been invited to hear the secretary of state speak. The front seats, however, were reserved for the top diplomats and special envoys, people who are officially her subordinates. However in recent months they have outshone their boss. Richard Holbrooke, for example, the special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a giant of a man with an ego to match. And yet on Wednesday he sat obediently watching Clinton like a schoolboy. When asked whether some of her co-workers wanted to ask questions, Clinton laughed and said: "You better not."
Today it was "Madame Secretary's" turn to speak. This was not to be any ordinary speech. It was the speech. After all, Clinton has been in office for six months; it was high time for a keynote address. "She wants to present her foreign policy vision," her spokeswoman promised. Nothing less than a framework for Obama's global strategy was to be expected.
Or was this more about raising her standing in the government? She has already been branded a weak secretary of state in the US media. They have worked out how often Clinton was left at home during Obama's many important foreign trips. And how many ambassador posts, from Europe to Asia, have gone to big contributors to Obama's campaign rather than to Clinton loyalists. They also noticed how Clinton only managed to get back in the media spotlight when she broke her elbow.
"It's time for Barack Clinton to let Hillary Clinton take off her burqa," mocked Tina Brown, top columnist with Internet news site The Daily Beast, who went on to suggest that the president treated his former rival like a Saudi wife.
"Kind of like my elbow -- it's getting better every day," Clinton told the Council on Foreign Relations. She meant, of course, US foreign policy. However, it could just as easily have been an expression of her hope for a bigger role in the administration.
That was exactly what she was aiming for with the speech. Speaking for 34 minutes, Clinton covered a broad swath of terrain, from Iran, to the fight against weapons of mass destruction, dialogue with the Arab world, more development aid and "smart power." America should use its power decisively, but also sensibly, in conjunction with its partners, Clinton explained. "We need a new mindset about how America will use its power," she said.
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