Sen. Hillary Clinton, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state, gave a glimpse of the "firm hand in the velvet glove" approach she may employ as a diplomat.

She charmed her way through the mostly gentle questioning by fellow senators at her confirmation hearing Tuesday but testily deflected ethics concerns about her husband's international charity work.

Clinton's daylong interview process before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee marked the start of the first wave of high-profile confirmation hearings for Obama's Cabinet.

Clinton vowed to improve America's standing around the world. She called for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East and blasted the Bush administration's handling of foreign affairs.

"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," Clinton said in her opening remarks. "I believe American leadership has been wanting, but still wanted."

Clinton and Obama contend that the Bush administration relied too heavily on the military to carry out foreign policy and that it leaned too much on ideology and too little on pragmatism.

"We must use what has been called 'smart power,' the full range of tools at our disposal," she said. "With 'smart power,' diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy."

Of all of Obama's Cabinet choices, none generated more buzz than Clinton. The two fought bitterly for the Democratic presidential nomination, and foreign affairs was the main field of battle.

Democrats and Republicans touted Clinton's qualifications for the job and predicted that she'll have almost no problem being confirmed.

However, two Republican committee members pressed her to take additional steps to ensure that former President Bill Clinton's global fundraising work does not pose an appearance of conflict with her role as the chief U.S. diplomat. To that Clinton balked, saying disclosure rules in place were carefully crafted and adequate to avoid any conflict.

The former president's foundation, which has done work on HIV/AIDS, climate change and global poverty, has accepted more than $131 million from foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the committee, called Clinton eminently qualified to be the secretary of state but expressed concern about the Clinton foundation's activities. He said transparency was a must for the foundation and it should "forswear" foreign donations if Hillary Clinton were confirmed.

"The core problem is that foreign governments and entities may perceive the Clinton Foundation as a means to curry favor with the secretary of state," Lugar said.

Few others on the committee pursued the conflict-of-interest issue and it did not appear to be an impediment to her confirmation.

The Foreign Relations Committee planned to vote on Clinton's nomination on Thursday. If it approves her, she could gain full Senate confirmation as early as Inauguration Day.

Kansas City Star, January 13, 2009