At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing this afternoon, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defended her boss's foreign policy views in a way that seemed to suggest that she personally holds a different view than does President Obama, but that he beat her in the Democratic presidential primaries, so his view wins.

The remark came after Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., challenged Clinton on "the issue of the president being photographed with the virulent anti-American socialist dictator of Venezuela," President Hugo Chavez.

Pence called Chavez "a Castro wannabe" who has "oppressed the media,... bullied economic interests,... (and) blacklisted political opponents."

The Indiana Republican quoted remarks then-Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., made in July 2007 regarding potential meetings with the leaders of North Korea, Venezuela, or Cuba: "I will not promise to meet with the leaders of these countries during my first year. I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes."
Pence asked: "In light of your previously stated insight, isn't it true that having the president of the United States be seen on the world stage warmly greeting a virulent anti-American socialist dictator that intentionally or unintentionally our president was used 'for propaganda purposes,' to borrow the phrase that you used?"

Said Clinton: "President Obama won the election. He beat me in a primary, in which he put forth a different approach. And he is now our president, and we all want our president, no matter of which party, to succeed, especially in such a perilous time."

The Secretary of State also said that the U.S. "spent eight years trying to isolate Chavez, and what has been the result? I don't think it's been in America's interest. So we're going to try some different things."

She also said she recalled, during the Cold War, "virulent anti-American communist dictators threatening our country on a regular basis, and I remember our presidents meeting with them, shaking their hands, and negotiating. They did not do so without conditions or without strong principles, but they did so ... Your strong feelings about Hugo Chavez are certainly understood, because he has clearly been someone who has behaved in ways that don't accord with our values and our principles, but so were the Soviet leaders, and so did so many others with whom we eventually created an environment in which we could see some changes that benefited the United States of America."

Concluded the former first lady, "my bottom line is, I am here to serve my country, which I have loved ever since I was a little girl. And I'm going to support my president, because he is committed to doing whatever he can in the time he is given to serve to make this a better, safer, more secure world. So I appreciate your strong feelings, but I think that we are pursuing a course that may very well open up some additional opportunities that we hope will be in our interests, and advance our values, and protect our security."