Just days before they move onto new jobs and challenges, Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton took to the Senate floor to bid farewell to their colleagues.

And, perhaps not too surprisingly, both displayed well-known personality traits - Mr. Biden's chattiness, Mrs. Clinton's attention to detail - in addition to effusively praising their colleagues and the Senate.

In saying her goodbyes, Mrs. Clinton looked back on what her adopted state of New York had accomplished and the challenges it faced during her time as senator, almost a decade after she undertook a listening tour to introduce herself to Empire State residents and sell them on her candidacy.

In a more rollicking speech earlier in the morning, Mr. Biden showed off what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called his "not entirely undeserved reputation for loquaciousness" - peppering his speech with asides, calling out to his (for the moment) colleagues by their first name, and dropping the names of long deceased senators, like Hubert Humphrey and John Stennis.

Mr. Biden, who will be sworn in as Vice President on Tuesday, resigned his seat, effective 5 p.m. today. Earlier in the day, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offered broad support for Mrs. Clinton's nomination to head the State Department.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the floor this morning that Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado and Interior Secretary-designate, would also make a farewell speech on Thursday.

During a large portion of her speech, Mrs. Clinton concentrated on 9/11 and its aftermaths, noting the challenges she and fellow New York Senator Charles E. Schumer faced in even getting to Ground Zero shortly after the attacks and the support she received from her fellow senators.

"Many of you offered not only kind words, but specific deeds," said Mrs. Clinton, who had joined the Senate only eight months before the September 11th attacks. She then added, "I will never forget Senator Robert Byrd telling me, at my state's hour of need, 'Think of me as the third senator from New York.' "

But Mrs. Clinton also spoke of successes outside New York City, in the process rattling off one of the laundry lists of accomplishments she became known for her during her unsuccessful presidential run - including increasing access to broadband in the Finger Lakes region and investing in theaters in Syracuse.

And she found time for levity, especially at the expense of Mr. Schumer and his renowned love of the Sunday morning talk shows.

"Even though I'm leaving the Senate and we will no longer serve together, I know that whenever I'm missing Chuck, all I have to do is turn on the television," Mrs. Clinton said.

"Especially on Sunday in New York," she said as laughter subsided in the Senate chamber.

For his part, Mr. Biden spoke at length about the personal relationships - both with ideological allies like Senator Edward M. Kennedy and those across the aisle, such as former Senator Strom Thurmond - he had cultivated in his six full terms in the Senate.

"Every good thing I have seen happen here, every bold step taken in the 36-plus years I have been here, came not from the application of pressure by interest groups, but through the maturation of personal relationships," said Mr. Biden, who, at 66, has spent well over half his life in the Senate.

He also noted the advancements the Senate had made since 1973, when he was first sworn-in. The Senate, which had no female members when he first joined now has 16 (not counting Mrs. Clinton). Congressional proceedings also are now televised, while fax machines and e-mail are in each office - though not without a fight, Mr. Biden recounted.

"Some of the older guys thought, 'Computers? Why are we going to waste the taxpayers' money and put computers in our offices?" Mr. Biden said to laughter. "I'm almost embarrassed to acknowledge that.

But even as they relied on humor, both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Biden made sure to express their pride at having served in the Senate.

"You know, in the Federalist Papers, we often hear the reference to the Senate's role to avert the consequences of 'sudden and violent passions, and intemperate and pernicious resolutions,' " said Mrs. Clinton "Well, to the everlasting credit and wisdom of our founders, we do come together in an effort to find common ground."

"I may be resigning from the Senate today, but I will always be a Senate man," said Mr. Biden. "Except for the title 'father,' there is no title, including 'vice president,' that I am more proud to wear than that of United States senator."




By Bernie Becker, The New York Times, January 15, 2009

United Nations ambassador-designate Susan E. Rice said yesterday she would seek to improve what she called "an indispensable if imperfect institution" while seeking "strong international partnerships" on a range of issues.

"The United States will address all these challenges unencumbered by the old divisions of the 20th century," Rice said in her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "We cannot afford to be burdened with labels such as 'rich' or 'poor,' 'developed' or 'developing,' 'North' or 'South,' or the 'non-aligned movement.' In the 21st century, these false divisions rarely serve anyone's interests."

The 44-year-old foreign policy veteran promised a major shift on climate change policy from that of the Bush administration, saying the incoming administration would "engage vigorously" in U.N. climate-change talks.

She also said the administration of President-elect Barack Obama would work closely through the United Nations to prevent "the spread and use of nuclear weapons" and improve the organization's ability to manage complex peace operations.

Rice said it was "unacceptable" that the planned peacekeeping force for the conflict in Sudan's troubled Darfur region -- a situation the Bush administration has described as genocide -- was at only half its authorized strength. But she said that U.N. peacekeeping is "a deal compared to what we would spend if we did it ourselves," estimating a similar U.S. mission would cost about eight times more.

However, Rice appeared skeptical about a proposed peacekeeping force for Somalia, backed by the Bush administration, saying the incoming administration would have to take "a very careful and close look" at the plan.

Rice, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, was one of Obama's chief foreign policy aides during the presidential campaign. She served in a similar role for the committee chairman, John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, when he was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004. Rice, no relation to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was an assistant secretary of state for Africa and a White House aide during the Clinton administration.

Rice was greeted warmly by the senators and there appeared to be no obstacles to a speedy confirmation.

The committee yesterday also overwhelmingly backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to be the next secretary of state. The panel voted 16 to 1 to send her nomination to the Senate floor, where she is not expected to face any obstacles to full confirmation. The former first lady fielded few tough questions at her confirmation hearing Tuesday, as Democrats and Republicans alike praised her intellect and abilities.

The sole negative vote was from Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who said he was concerned about the overseas charitable fundraising activities of her husband, former president Bill Clinton. He decried the former president's foundation as a "multimillion dollar minefield of conflicts of interest."

In a deal with the transition team, the former president agreed to annually release the names of overseas donors. Sen. Clinton shrugged off calls from some committee members to amend the agreement in order to provide greater and more timely disclosure of overseas contributions during her tenure as secretary.

By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, January 16, 2009

WASHINGTON - The smooth ride to the inauguration has turned bumpier in its final days for President-elect Barack Obama as he struggles to complete his cabinet, push problematic nominations through the Senate and balance competing demands in his economic package.

Mr. Obama has increasingly taken command in Washington even before being sworn in and won an important legislative victory on Thursday, releasing more bailout money. But a transition that has moved forward with precision and decisiveness has also begun encountering signs of trouble that could foreshadow the challenges awaiting him once he moves into the White House next week.

The failure of Mr. Obama's pick for Treasury secretary to pay all of his taxes has pushed off his confirmation so that a stand-in will temporarily lead the department after Mr. Obama's swearing-in, even as renewed turmoil buffets the financial sector. Aides said Mr. Obama would likewise take office without settling on a commerce secretary to replace his first choice, who dropped out. And the man Mr. Obama once declared should not fill his Senate seat was nonetheless sworn in on Thursday.

Most of Mr. Obama's cabinet choices are heading toward easy confirmation, including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose nomination for secretary of state was endorsed 16 to 1 by a Senate committee on Thursday. But his designated attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., was grilled over his record by another Senate panel. Over all, it appeared that Mr. Obama might not have as many cabinet secretaries in place by Inauguration Day as President Bush did.

On policy, the broad consensus Mr. Obama has forged in favor of a huge stimulus program to revive the economy could be tested as Democrats push for more spending and less tax cuts while Republicans push for the opposite. Hoping to rally public support behind his approach, Mr. Obama plans to fly to Ohio on Friday to hold a town-hall-style meeting on the economy.

"The tension that we're starting to see with them trying to get the stimulus through is part of the natural push-pull of the process," said Candida P. Wolff, a former White House legislative affairs director for Mr. Bush. "A new administration is having to learn to deal with it."

The Obama team brushed off the road bumps, noting the president-elect's strong poll numbers and success in persuading lawmakers to release the second half of the $700 billion financial bailout fund. "We're sitting at 71 percent job approval in the midst of the worst economic crisis," said Rahm Emanuel, the incoming White House chief of staff. "That's one measure of performance, not Washington talk."

As for confirmation holdups for Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury nominee, and Tom Daschle, tapped for secretary of health and human services, Mr. Emanuel called that the normal "nicks and cuts" of the transition process. "I'm not going to deny that there's Tim and also Tom's stuff," he said. "But when you take the wide-lens view of everything and weigh the runs versus errors, where does the scorecard come out?"

By most measures, the scorecard is still heavily weighted in Mr. Obama's favor. Even Republicans say he has had a successful transition and appears likely to get all of his nominees confirmed eventually. The troubles that have arisen stand out in part because everything has gone so well for him for so long.

But lately, the plan has sometimes gone awry. Mr. Obama spoke out against seating Roland W. Burris as his successor in the Senate because of the corruption accusations against Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, who appointed Mr. Burris. But the Senate Democrats reversed gear and seated him on Thursday anyway.

Mr. Obama's nominee for the Commerce Department, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, pulled out amid a federal investigation into state contracting, and aides said they did not expect Mr. Obama to name a replacement until after Tuesday's inauguration. Similarly, Mr. Obama's first choice for director of the Central Intelligence Agency withdrew before being nominated, and the delay in picking Leon E. Panetta for the C.I.A. and Adm. Dennis C. Blair for director of national intelligence means neither will be confirmed in time for the inauguration.

The disclosure that Mr. Geithner paid $48,000 in delinquent taxes and interest, some only when he was about to be nominated, has slowed down that confirmation. Several Republicans have said they still support him, so he is still likely to be confirmed, but his hearing will not be held until the day after the inauguration, leaving the Treasury at least briefly in the hands of a caretaker. Obama aides said that would be Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey, a Bush appointee who was asked to stay on.

While the president-elect and his aides have publicly fallen in line behind Mr. Geithner, privately a few Obama officials have started to express concern. Mr. Geithner's selection to collect the nation's taxes after failing to pay his own has become fodder for late-night comics. "This needs to get done," one nervous Obama transition official said.

Other nominees have been delayed as well. Ray LaHood, Mr. Obama's choice as transportation secretary, was supposed to have his hearing this week, but it was postponed because he did not turn information over to federal law enforcement officials until recently, leaving the F.B.I. scrambling to complete a background check, a transition official said. The check should be finished this week, the official said.

The Senate Finance Committee has likewise not set a date for Mr. Daschle's hearing while aides review a wide range of financial documents, and a senior Republican committee official said the process would extend beyond the inauguration. "We feel perfectly fine about the process and expect him to be confirmed," said a senior aide to Mr. Daschle, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the confirmation process.

That means that Senate Democrats, who once hoped to beat Mr. Bush's record of having seven of his cabinet nominees confirmed by Inauguration Day, are no longer confident they can match that. Mrs. Clinton looks certain to be approved by then and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is being held over and does not require a new Senate vote. Janet Napolitano will probably be confirmed as secretary of homeland security by then, Senate aides said. But it was less certain how many others would be.

By Peter Baker and Helene Cooper, The New York Times, January 15, 2009

The Associated Press, January 15, 2009

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry says Secretary of State designee Hillary Rodham Clinton has done a "terrific" job fielding questions from senators.

Kerry told NBC's "Today" show on Wednesday that he expects Clinton's nomination will be approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. Clinton spent much of Tuesday testifying at a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.

Kerry is the new chairman of that Senate committee. The Massachusetts Democrat says that Clinton has been very clear about how the incoming administration of Barack Obama will proceed on such major issues as Iran, nuclear proliferation and China.

Kerry himself had been considered a top contender for the post of secretary of state in an Obama administration.

The Associated Press, January 14, 2009

Hillary Rodham Clinton's confirmation hearing today in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee marks a turn in the legacy of a family that has dominated Democratic politics for the last two and a half decades.

With Clinton's likely confirmation as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state, she and her husband -- the former president of the United States -- will step out (permanently?) from the world of partisan politics and into the world of international statecraft.

And, with that change will come the potential for a re-imagining (some might say a re-writing) of the legacy of the Clintons in the minds of voters -- from partisan political warriors to committed bipartisan stateswoman (and man).

Perhaps more than any other political family in modern memory, Bill and Hillary Clinton are acutely aware of protecting and bolstering their legacies. It's why Bill Clinton took such umbrage during the primary campaign when Barack Obama insinuated that politics as practiced by Clinton and George W. Bush was what he was running against. And, it's why Hillary Clinton ultimately chose to leave the Senate after just eight years to take on the role of chief diplomat for Obama.

During the course of the 2008 presidential campaign, voters were reminded of what they liked least about the Clintons -- the too-political approach to every issue, the attempts to turn even the smallest mistakes by Obama into major crisis during the campaign and so on.

But, since the conclusion of the election, the Clintons (especially Hillary) have moved to erase any lingering memories of her as a partisan pitbull from voters' minds -- replacing those thoughts with the image of her as the consummate diplomat, ready and willing to serve for the good of the country.

In her opening statement today, Clinton sounded those same themes of statesmanship and non-partisanship.

Summing up that sentiment, Clinton said:

"The President-elect and I believe that foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology. On facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice. Our security, our vitality, and our ability to lead in today's world oblige us to recognize the overwhelming fact of our interdependence."

Republican members on the committee played their part in the re-making of Clinton's image; Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar (R) described her answer on arms control "very good news" while Ohio Sen. George Voinovich (R) waxed eloquent on Clinton's virtues during his question time.

The transformation of Clinton is already well underway if you believe public opinion polls.

A new Gallup survey shows roughly two-thirds of Americans view her favorably, a steep increase from even August 2008 when 54 percent saw Clinton in a favorable light while 43 percent viewed her negatively.

Other polls affirm that positive movement for Clinton. An early December NBC/Wall Street Journal survey showed 53 percent of the sample felt very or somewhat positively about Clinton while 26 percent felt very/somewhat negatively about her. That compares favorably to an NBC/WSJ poll done in late March when 37 percent felt positively while 48 percent felt negatively.

Clinton's numbers are almost certain to continue upwards for two reasons.

First, she is now entirely outside of the context of political campaigns. Now the face she will put forward to average Americans is one of hyper-competency, intelligence and readiness -- the traits voters always liked about Clinton if only they could get beyond the partisanship (which they couldn't).

Second, the role of secretary of state is seen as the most non-partisan of all the cabinet posts -- the public face that America puts out to the world. That image explains why Condoleezza Rice is still highly regarded by many independents and Democrats despite having been at the side of a deeply unpopular president for the last eight years.

The stars appear to be aligning for Clinton to drastically -- and quickly -- reshape her political legacy over the next four to eight years. Today's hearing is the start of that re-imagination as Clinton moves from the world of politics to that of international diplomacy. It will be a fascinating journey to watch.

By Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post, January 13, 2009

Caroline Kennedy was the early favorite, but a poll finds that New York voters now want Atty. Gen. Cuomo to take over Hillary Clinton's seat.

New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo, the son of a former governor, is preferred by New Yorkers over Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of a former president, to be the next U.S. senator from the state, according to a poll released this morning.

Cuomo leads Kennedy 31% to 24%, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. The pair are among at least five candidates seeking appointment to the seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, nominated to become U.S. secretary of State.

The Senate choice has put Paterson in a bind. Kennedy represents a new face who can attract money and media attention, especially when she campaigns in 2010, the same year that Paterson is expected to run. He is filling out the term of Eliot Spitzer, who was forced to resign as governor because of a prostitution scandal.

According to the poll, respondents by a margin of 38% to 33% said that they believed Paterson would appoint Kennedy. That echoes recent statements by top state Democrats.

But Cuomo has been a fixture in New York Democratic politics since he helped engineer his father's unexpected victory as governor. He has also been highly visible as attorney general, investigating questionable student loans and abuse of the state police by Spitzer, among other issues.

According to the poll, he leads Kennedy 31% to 20% among upstate voters and 36% to 22% in the New York City suburbs. Kennedy, whose base is Manhattan, gets 31% of New York City voters to Cuomo's 29%.

Among others seeking the appointment are Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who gets 6%, U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand at 5% and U.S. Rep. Steve Israel at 2%. Fourteen percent said they were undecided.

The poll is based on telephone calls to 1,664 registered voters from Jan. 8 to 12 and has a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.




By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate warmly received several of President-elect Barack Obama's choices for Cabinet positions Wednesday, continuing an aggressive push to confirm them by Inauguration Day.

At hearings reviewing Obama's picks for veterans affairs secretary, agriculture secretary and EPA administrator, Senate Democrats and Republicans praised the selections and pledged to confirm them quickly. Several of Obama's Cabinet members, including Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, could be confirmed within hours of Obama's taking the oath of office next Tuesday.

The three Cabinet picks who faced the Senate on Wednesday all pledged to improve upon the current administration.

Obama's choice to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, said six-month waits to have a disability claim processed would not be acceptable under his watch. Shinseki promised to modernize the nation's second largest agency.

"The frustrating lack of timeliness, and the challenges of coordinating DOD and VA's systems, are some of the areas that must be addressed quickly," he said.

Shinseki was the Army's first four-star general of Japanese-American descent. As Army chief of staff, he helped lead the Army's transformation to a lighter, more mobile force. He retired in 2003, shortly after clashing with the Bush administration on war policy.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, nominated to become Secretary of Agriculture, said the department needs "a compelling new vision" to cope with economic woes that are hitting rural areas hard.

He said that if he is confirmed, he will work to boost the economies of farm communities, promote nutritious foods and help poor families put meals on the table.

"Farmers and ranchers experience volatile markets while credit tightens," Vilsack said. "Small towns and rural communities continue to lose people and jobs while critical infrastructure crumbles. These towns and communities find it increasingly difficult to keep pace with the ever-changing national and global economy."

Vilsack would oversee the nation's nutrition programs, including food stamps, which make up a large part of the department's budget. Those programs are facing increased need in recent months as the economy has stumbled.

Lisa Jackson, nominated to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, pledged Wednesday that decisions at the agency will be based on science and the law and not politics.

Her statement was the clearest signal yet that the Obama administration plans to take EPA in a different direction from his Republican predecessor.

"Science must be the backbone of what EPA does," said Jackson. "EPA's addressing of scientific decisions should reflect the expert judgment of the agency's career scientists and independent advisers."

The Senate is pushing to confirm the nominees quickly so they can begin the urgent business of tending to the nation's flailing economy. Clinton faced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday. Senate panels have also questioned Obama's nominees to lead the Energy, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Labor Departments.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee was scheduled to question Obama's pick for transportation secretary, former Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood, on Wednesday. But that hearing was pushed to next week due to a delay in getting his paperwork ready.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, The Associated Press, January 15, 2009

Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday that the incoming Obama administration will seek to engage directly with Iran in an effort to persuade it to abandon its nuclear program and become "a constructive regional actor," underscoring a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy from the Bush administration.

In prepared testimony and remarks during her confirmation hearing -- which were supplemented by 79 pages of formal answers to questions posed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- Clinton was careful not to tip her hand on specific plans or policies that the new administration might pursue. But she struck a consistent theme of active engagement and unyielding diplomacy, a sharp contrast to President Bush's policy of refusing to deal with countries that did not first meet conditions set by the United States.

"I don't get up every morning thinking only about the threats and dangers we face," Clinton said. "With every challenge comes an opportunity to find promise and possibility in the face of adversity and complexity."

Clinton also pledged greater involvement in the quest for Middle East peace but was not drawn into specific questions about how the incoming administration might handle Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip.

She drew the line, however, at the idea of the United States engaging in immediate talks with Hamas, the militant group battling Israel. Clinton said it is appropriate to set conditions in dealing with what she called "non-state actors," which in the case of Hamas would be renouncing violence, recognizing Israel and respecting previous agreements between Israelis and Palestinians.

The 61-year-old former first lady and current senator from New York was warmly embraced by senators on both sides of the aisle who praised her intellect and her policymaking skills. She fielded nearly six hours of mostly polite queries, the only exceptions being a handful of questions about potential conflicts posed by former president Bill Clinton's charitable foundation.

The committee plans to vote on her nomination tomorrow morning, and she is expected to be confirmed easily.

Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, sat behind her during the hearing, but the former president watched the hearings on television with his wife's 89-year-old mother, Dorothy Rodham, a spokesman said.

During his second term, Bush began a shift in policy, opening up dialogue with North Korea and bending on his initial demands for conditions on talks with Iran, but the idea that Bush had little interest in diplomatic engagement persisted in most foreign capitals.

On Iran, the Bush administration has pursued a carefully calibrated effort that held out the prospect of economic and political incentives if Iran agreed to suspend its efforts to enrich uranium, a key component of nuclear weapons. Bush permitted ambassador-level diplomats to meet with Iranian counterparts but insisted that more substantive discussions not occur unless Iran first changed its behavior.

Clinton said flatly yesterday that Bush's effort has "not worked" and that President-elect Barack Obama's team is "very open to looking to a positive, effective way of engaging with Iran." She acknowledged that the effort represents a gamble and insisted that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable to Obama, but she added: "We won't know what we're capable of achieving until we're actually there working on it."

In her written responses to the committee's questions, Clinton said that it is even possible that Obama could meet directly with Iranian leaders, a prospect she had ridiculed when she was Obama's rival in the bruising Democratic primaries.

"We will not sit down for the sake of talking," Clinton wrote. "But we are willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader at the time and place of our choosing -- if and only if -- it can advance the interest of the United States."

Condoleezza Rice, the outgoing secretary of state, defended the administration's approach to Iran in an interview with The Washington Post on Monday, arguing that it had put Iran on the defensive in the region.

"This isn't an issue of talk to Iranians, don't talk to Iranians," Rice said. "It is a question of what price the Iranians are trying to extract for engagement. Are they trying to extract a grand bargain in which Iran is acknowledged as a regional power without having given up the very policies that are destabilizing the region?"

Clinton reiterated that Obama is "committed to responsibly ending the war in Iraq and employing a broad strategy in Afghanistan that reduces threats to our safety and enhances the prospect of stability and peace." Her statement was nuanced and cautious, and it was perhaps most notable for what it did not say, including no mention of the need to win either war, a constant refrain of the current administration.

Clinton appeared most passionate when she spoke on a subject normally absent from the list of priorities for the nation's top diplomat -- the plight of the 2 billion people who earn less than $2 a day, especially women and girls, who she said "comprise the majority of the world's unhealthy, unschooled, unfed and unpaid."

Obama is equally concerned about the world's poor, Clinton said, noting that his mother, Ann Dunham, was a pioneer in microfinance in Indonesia, and observing that "the care and concern she showed for women and for poor people around the world mattered greatly to her son, our president-elect. And I believe that it has certainly informed his views and his vision."

Clinton gave little ground on questions about potential conflicts between Bill Clinton's charitable activities worldwide and the job of secretary of state. An agreement was reached under which the former president released the names of donors to his foundation, which has raised about $500 million, some of it from foreign governments. He also promised to provide annual updates of the donor list.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (Ind.), the senior Republican on the committee, gently suggested in his opening statement that the agreement be amended to provide even more information, including the immediate disclosure of all donations of $50,000 or more. "The bottom line is that even well-intentioned foreign donations carry risk for United States foreign policy," he said.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that Sen. Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies and others that later contributed to her husband's foundation. A Clinton spokesman and the companies involved dismissed the incidents as coincidental.

"I am hopeful that as we go through the history of this, that people will not say, 'Well, Senator Lugar . . . and others were prescient; they saw the problems,' " Lugar warned Clinton.

By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, January 14, 2009

On Tuesday morning, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton began to lay out her foreign policy vision, she began bringing the curtain down on the incoming Obama administration's favorite slogan, "We only have one president at a time."

The questions throughout the first hours of her confirmation hearing as secretary of state were relatively gentle, except when it came to her husband's foundation and the potential conflicts of interest that accompany the money he raises abroad.

Mrs. Clinton was, as usual, well briefed, and like a good diplomat, she set out grand principles for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while avoiding a whole lot of specificity about how she would apply them.

She often seemed to be melding the hawkish tone of her own primary campaign with the diplomacy-first emphasis of her new boss. She said, for example, that the new administration would make every effort to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state, striking a somewhat softer tone than her campaign statements about how a nuclear Iran would be intolerable.

The senators still have questions aplenty. But just in case they need a few more, here are a few that she could still be pinned down on - and a guide to what to listen for in the answers.

In Iran, President Bush has been missing one thing: Leverage over the mullahs. When you start the direct talks Mr. Obama promised, are you prepared to continue Mr. Bush's covert programs to undermine Iran's race to get a bomb, or to repeat Mr. Obama's threat to consider an embargo on refined gasoline into the country?

How Mrs. Clinton navigates the Iran question may be an indicator of whether the hawkish tone she took during the campaign, or the diplomacy-first assurances offered by Mr. Obama, will dominate the early days of the new administration's foreign policy. Since this is an ongoing argument inside the Obama camp, look for a bit of both: A commitment to those direct talks, and some form of "all options are on the table."

Like you, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Bush has been a steadfast friend of Israel, backing up its right to self-defense and assuring it that Washington is always there for our biggest ally in the Middle East. But there are suggestions that Mr. Bush took loyalty too far in recent weeks, and missed the moment to press Israel to seek a cease-fire. Can you tell us, would you urge Israel to halt the Gaza action?

For a senator from New York, this is the third rail of American foreign policy. But secretaries of state have a different constituency, and Mrs. Clinton knows that the early relationship with the European allies, among others, may well depend on how she strikes a balance between defending Israel and seeking to address humanitarian concerns about the conflict in Gaza. Look for a lot of talk about a "sustainable" cease fire, code-words for an agreement that stops all rocket-fire by Hamas into Israel, a tough task.

At key moments in your career, Senator Clinton, you've run into trouble when you listened to political loyalists instead of to more dispassionate professionals. It happened when you were dealing with health care 17 years ago. It happened last year with your presidential campaign. Are you prepared to take the advice of career foreign policy experts at the State Department, or Mr. Obama's personal team at the National Security Council, over the aides you choose to bring in with you to the State Department?

As Mr. Obama's team has diagnosed the problem, Mrs. Clinton's biggest troubles have often surrounded her selection of her closest aides. "She wants to be in control, and that's understandable," one of Mr. Obama's top foreign policy advisers told me not long ago. "But at the State Department, you need people willing to step into the secretary's office and say, "That's a really dumb idea - and we've tried it before." Watch for how sincerely Mrs. Clinton does the I-know-this-job-is-different line.

Mr. Bush's national security strategy, written in 2002 after 9/11, declares that it is the policy of the United States never again to allow a "peer competitor" to emerge, which could threaten American dominance. Would you strike that clause, or keep it?

If that sounds like a trick question, well, it is. Throughout 2008, Republican candidates generally said that the United States must remain the world's preeminent power. Democrats ran on a platform that implicitly suggested that it's alright if America does not take the lead on every issue - they talked like George W. Bush back in 2000, when he spoke often of conducting a "humble" foreign policy. (We didn't hear that line at his final press conference yesterday.) But how Mrs. Clinton answers may give an indication of whether or not she, and her boss, believe that keeping America the world's biggest power is Job 1. Look for talk about a listening tour around the world, seeking the advice of our allies.

In your husband's administration, China policy was chiefly the province of the Treasury Department. And maybe it should be today: After all, the Chinese hold nearly 10 percent of our national debt, and they are a key player in addressing the global turndown. Are you willing to cede many dealings with the world's most populous nation to Tim Geithner, the Treasury Secretary-designate?

An easy question to answer: Mrs. Clinton can talk about how well she and Mr. Geithner, a long-time Asia-hand, will work together in a cooperative spirit. But the Chinese have been around for a few thousand years longer than we have, and they are brilliant at driving wedges between Treasury and State. Promising coordination is one thing; making it work is another.

About your husband, Mrs. Clinton. Is he the natural Middle East envoy? Is that role compatible with his past willingness to fund the Clinton Foundation with a lot of Middle East wealth?

There are a lot of people who think that the combination of Bill Clinton, the former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, and a range of other veterans of the failed Camp David meetings in 2000 is the best way to jump-start diplomacy. But that would have the feel of Old Timers' Day at Foggy Bottom Stadium. Look for any indication of whether Mrs. Clinton plans to use the former president as anything other than a sounding board.




By David E. Sanger, The New York Times, January 13, 2009

WASHINGTON - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday deflected calls for greater limits on her husband's fund-raising, struck a sharper tone toward Israel on violence in the Middle East and emerged from a daylong confirmation hearing headed for swift approval as secretary of state.

Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mrs. Clinton showed a mastery of the issues that won praise from her fellow lawmakers, and outlined a muscular view of American foreign policy that she said would put diplomacy front and center in the Obama administration.

On most important issues, including Iraq and Afghanistan, Mrs. Clinton broke little ground, saying that she did not want to undermine President Bush before President-elect Barack Obama took office. But she left little doubt that she intended to be in the thick of all of these issues.

"I assure you that, if I am confirmed, the State Department will be firing on all cylinders to provide forward-looking, sustained diplomacy in every part of the world," she said.

Mrs. Clinton was one of five officials picked by Mr. Obama who faced hearings on Tuesday as Senate leaders laid the groundwork for confirmation votes next Tuesday.

The only testy notes in a day of cordial exchanges came when Republican senators warned that Mrs. Clinton could face conflicts of interest because of foreign donations to the charitable foundation run by her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Mrs. Clinton stood her ground, saying that restrictions hammered out between Mr. Clinton and the Obama transition team were "probably as close as we can get" without hampering the foundation's work.

In addressing the spiraling violence in Gaza, Mrs. Clinton spoke more fully than either she or Mr. Obama had done previously, and she seemed to part from the tone set by the Bush administration in calling attention to what she described as the "tragic humanitarian costs" borne by Palestinians as well as Israelis.

Mrs. Clinton said she was "deeply sympathetic" to Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Hamas militants from Gaza, a stance that has been central to the Bush administration's message.

But Mrs. Clinton also said that the price being paid by Palestinian civilians as well as Israelis "must only increase our determination to seek a just and lasting peace agreement" that included a Palestinian state. Her emphasis on the civilian costs of the violence in Gaza suggested that the incoming administration might be more inclined than President Bush has been to urge restraint on the Israelis.

The top Republican on the panel, Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, was among those who expressed disappointment over Mrs. Clinton's refusal to accept further restrictions on her husband's fund-raising. But he told Mrs. Clinton that he still intended to vote in favor of her confirmation. "Your qualifications are remarkable," he said.

Other senators tried with limited success to plumb how the next administration would conduct foreign policy differently from the current one.

On issues as varied as Iraq reconstruction, arms control and nuclear nonproliferation, Mrs. Clinton described a fortified State Department that would be an equal partner to the Pentagon. She noted that Robert M. Gates, who is staying on as defense secretary, has also urged that the State Department be given additional resources and that diplomats play a more active role.

Although Mrs. Clinton ranged widely in five hours of testimony, speaking in detail on topics that included the coming negotiations in Copenhagen on climate change, she acknowledged that the eruption of violence in Gaza was likely to dominate her first days as secretary of state. She reiterated her opposition to direct negotiations with Hamas unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel.

Still, Mrs. Clinton said that "real security for Israel, normal and positive relations with its neighbors," as well as genuine security for Palestinians, must continue to be America's ideal.

"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem - and many presidents, including my husband, have spent years trying to help work out a solution - we cannot give up on peace," she said.

Likewise, Mrs. Clinton predicted a grinding process of diplomacy with North Korea, saying the United States would continue to press the government in Pyongyang on its nuclear program through multiparty talks with China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

Mr. Clinton did not attend the hearing, but he cast a shadow over it. His foundation, which includes several initiatives to improve health and living standards around the world, has accepted large contributions from foreign governments. Donations have included multimillion-dollar gifts from Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brunei, the Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, Qatar and Taiwan.

"This was bound to be a dilemma from the moment the president-elect asked you to be secretary of state," Mr. Lugar said.

In the day's only tough questioning, Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, challenged Mrs. Clinton to pledge that her husband's foundation would report its donations on a quarterly basis. The memorandum of understanding between Mr. Clinton and the Obama team stipulates annual disclosure.

"I really do think this poses a lot of real and perceived conflict issues," Mr. Vitter said.

Mrs. Clinton deflected the questions, saying, "This is an agreement that has been worked out between all the parties." At one point, the committee's chairman, Senator John Kerry, intervened to dispute Mr. Vitter's claim that the Clinton Global Initiative, which is a venture of the foundation, does not disclose its donors.

Under questioning, Mrs. Clinton defended her husband's acceptance of donations from foreign governments, but pledged to keep a close eye on the issue. "I hasten to add," she said, "my career in public service is hardly free of controversy."

The generally polite tone of the hearing was set at the start by Mr. Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat, who is the new chairman of the panel, but who had hoped to be picked as secretary of state himself. He said that Mrs. Clinton's "presence overseas will send a strong signal that America is back."

Mrs. Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, sat in the row behind her.

In addressing other issues, Mrs. Clinton noted that Mr. Obama favored more engagement with Iran but offered no details.

She was more specific about American policy in the Darfur region of Sudan, saying that Mr. Obama might impose no-flight zones or other sanctions to rein in the actions of pro-government militia forces.

Mrs. Clinton said little about the next administration's approaches to Iraq and Afghanistan. But transition officials said that in addition to keeping Mr. Gates as defense secretary, Mr. Obama would be keeping another holdover from the Bush administration on his national security team - Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, who will keep his job coordinating Iraq and Afghanistan policy out of the National Security Council.

In addition to her answers on foreign policy, Mrs. Clinton made it clear that the State Department would have a higher profile on economic issues, which, she noted, had implications for relations with Russia. She also laid out an ambitious agenda for working on women's health.

"Of particular concern to me," she said, "is the plight of women and girls, who comprise the majority of the world's unhealthy, unschooled, unfed and unpaid."

Mrs. Clinton noted that Mr. Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, had worked on microfinance in Indonesia and that she had been scheduled to attend a microfinance forum at the women's conference in Beijing in 1995, in which Mrs. Clinton took part. Ms. Dunham, she said, was too ill to travel.

"We will be honored to carry on Ann Dunham's work in the months and years ahead," Mrs. Clinton said.




By Mark Landler, The New York Times, January 13, 2009

One of America's greatest strengths is its potential for redemption and renewal. We saw that again Tuesday during Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's confirmation hearing to be President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state.

After eight incredibly self-destructive years - when President Bush bullied and alienated this country's friends and enabled far too many of its enemies - Senator Clinton promised a return to a foreign policy based on "principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology; on facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice."

To a Congress bitter about the Bush administration's arrogant disregard of its opinions and its constitutional powers, she pledged full consultation. Mrs. Clinton also pointedly forswore "petty turf wars." We, too, recall how Donald Rumsfeld insisted on controlling every aspect of the Iraq war - and the disastrous cost.

At any other time, talk of pragmatism, principle and cooperation might be dismissed as boilerplate. After the last eight years, it is cool water in the desert.

Like most cabinet nominees, Mrs. Clinton was short on policy specifics. She affirmed the incoming administration's intention to increase diplomatic contacts with both Iran and Syria (a major change from the Bush administration and some of her own previous positions). Still, she offered no details on what diplomatic incentives Mr. Obama would offer to try to wean Tehran from its nuclear ambitions; nor did she say what new pressure might be brought to bear should that fail beyond repeating the mantra that no options are off the table.

After weeks in which Mr. Obama largely refused to comment on the war in Gaza, Mrs. Clinton struck a different - and welcome - tone from the Bush administration, emphasizing the "tragic humanitarian costs" of the conflict in which more than 900 Gaza residents and 13 Israelis have died. She declared a firm commitment to an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement with a two-state solution, but there were no specifics. There is less than a week before Inauguration Day, and until there is a cease-fire, there is no hope of reviving negotiations.

The hearing featured the usual senatorial preening with committee members heaping praise on Mrs. Clinton - and vice versa. We hope the pledges to work together in the national interest have real staying power.

Even as he expressed enthusiastic support for Mrs. Clinton, Senator Richard Lugar, the panel's ranking Republican, raised thoughtful and serious questions about former President Bill Clinton's charitable activities. The "core of the problem," he warned, is that foreign governments and others "may perceive the Clinton Foundation as a means to gain favor with the secretary of state."

He rightly called for steps to make Mr. Clinton's fund-raising activities more transparent and to strengthen the oversight process that the former president has agreed to.

Mrs. Clinton said the current agreement is "probably as close as we can get." We strongly endorse Mr. Lugar's point that the Clintons must do everything possible to err on the side of caution. We urge them to take another look at tightening the oversight procedures.

Rising above petty turf wars. Coordinating effective approaches to complex issues. Reinvigorating American diplomacy. War as the last resort. Confirmation promises. But after eight years, they are a huge relief.




The New York Times, January 13, 2009

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

WASHINGTON - Secretary of state nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton touted a new pragmatic foreign policy at her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, but she brushed off calls for more disclosure to avoid potential conflicts with her husband's overseas fundraising for his foundation.

In a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Clinton, 61, easily answered a range of policy questions on issues from Afghanistan to Somalia.

She broke no new ground and gave expected replies as she heads for likely confirmation - with a committee vote set for tomorrow and a full Senate vote next week - as incoming president Barack Obama's most prominent cabinet member.

Taking many implicit slaps at the Bush administration, Clinton vowed to revitalize U.S. diplomacy and rebuild the civilian foreign service, as she urged greater bipartisanship at home and the building of more partnerships with fewer adversaries abroad with what she called "smart power."

"We will lead with diplomacy, because that's the smart approach," Clinton said in her opening remarks to a packed marble hearing room.

"But we also know that military force will sometimes be necessary and we will rely on it to protect our people and our interests when and where needed, as a last resort."

And she set out the ambitious goals of the Obama administration - seeking peace in the Middle East, but no negotiation with Hamas unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist; withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq beginning in June; expanding the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, and using regional diplomacy with Iran.

Clinton, the second-term junior senator from New York, was introduced at the hearing by Sen. Charles Schumer and supported by the presence of her daughter, Chelsea. But it was her absent husband, former President Bill Clinton, and his far-flung fundraising of millions of dollars from governments, businesses and individuals from around the world that hung over the room.

"The core of the problem is that foreign governments and entities may perceive the Clinton Foundation as a means to gain favor with the secretary of state," Sen. Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican from Indiana, said in his first statement.

Lugar sought her agreement to have the Clinton Foundation agree to immediately disclose donations or pledges of $50,000 or more that come from domestic and foreign sources, including individuals.

The current plan subjects only foreign governments to scrutiny by State Department ethics officials and would not require a review of contributions by foreign businesses or individuals, a loophole that could be exploited, he said.

All but assured the new post, however, Clinton dug in her heels, rebuffing suggestions of perceived and "real" conflicts by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and Lugar's suggestions.

But even though Lugar pressed her later, Clinton would not give in, insisting government ethics officials found "no inherent conflict."

"My husband doesn't take a salary. He has no financial interest in any of this," she said. "I don't take a salary. I have no financial interest."

Clinton insisted the memorandum of understanding worked out between the foundation and the Obama transition team provided ample, and unprecedented, annual disclosure by the foundation.

That left Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), in his first hearing as committee chairman, in a bit of a bind because he had endorsed Lugar's concerns as the "thinking of the whole committee."

"We're going to have to go forward and see," Kerry said.

HER WORLD VIEW

During her confirmation hearing yesterday to become secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton touched on a number of international issues.

On renewing American leadership in the world

"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America. The best way to advance America's interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. This isn't a philosophical point. This is our reality."

On conflict in the Middle East

"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem and many presidents, including my husband, have spent years trying to help work out a resolution, we cannot give up on peace. We must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians."

On the potential for a nuclear-armed Iran

"The president-elect has said repeatedly it is unacceptable. It is going to be United States policy to pursue diplomacy - with all of its [tools] - to do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon state. As I also said, no option is off the table."

BY TOM BRUNE, Newsday, January 14, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control.

At a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state sailed smoothly through an array of non-contentious questions, signaling the likelihood that she will be confirmed swiftly. By the end of a morning session that lasted a little over three hours, Clinton appeared to have made no stumbles and encountered no challenges to her basic vision for foreign policy.

Clinton, who will relinquish her seat in the Senate when confirmed, spoke confidently of Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.

"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," she said, her daughter Chelsea seated behind her in the audience. "The best way to advance America's interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. This isn't a philosophical point. This is our reality."

In laying out a general outlook for American foreign policy under Obama, Clinton spoke in a clear, unhurried voice and looked at ease. She made it plain, citing policy themes that were familiar from Obama's - and in many cases her - presidential campaign, that the incoming Democratic administration wants to elevate the role of diplomacy. She 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.

The panel's ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar, praised Clinton, calling her "the epitome of a big leaguer" whose presence could open new opportunities for American diplomacy.

But Lugar also raised questions about the issue of former President Bill Clinton's fundraising work and its relation to her wife's new post. Lugar said that the only way for Clinton to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to her husband's charity is to forswear any new foreign contributions. The Indiana senator said the situation poses a "unique complication" that requires "great care and transparency."

Before the hearing, Lugar made four suggestions to Hillary Clinton's staff on how to improve transparency in her husband's charitable fundraising, said the senator's spokesman, Andy Fisher.

But in written answers provided to the panel on Monday, Hillary Clinton made clear that the Obama administration would accept only one of the proposals - that the foundation provide a clear picture of its annual donations, Fisher said.

Lugar also wanted the foundation to immediately disclose donations of $50,000 or more; alert ethics officials when such sizable donations are pledged; and apply the same stringent requirements to foreign businesses. The current plan only subjects foreign governments to scrutiny by State Department ethics officials and would not require a review of contributions by foreign businesses - a loophole that could easily be exploited, Lugar warned.

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

The Senate also was holding confirmation hearings for four other Obama choices for Cabinet and top White House positions. Appearing were Peter Orszag, to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Nabors II, for deputy director of OMB; New York housing official Shaun Donovan, to be secretary of housing and urban development; Steven Chu, to head the Energy Department; and Arne Duncan, as education secretary.

Chu promised that if confirmed as energy secretary he will aggressively pursue policies aimed at addressing climate change and achieving greater energy independence by developing clean energy sources. At his hearing, Duncan said that the No Child Left Behind law should stop punishing schools where only a handful of kids are struggling.

After being introduced to the committee by her fellow New York Democratic senator, Charles Schumer, Clinton sat alone at a small, black-draped desk, with a retinue of advisers behind her. Her husband was not present. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the former president was watching the hearing elsewhere with his wife's mother.

"President Clinton wanted to make sure the attention was focused on Sen. Clinton," Vietor said.

The Senate hearing room was packed with ambassadors, current and former diplomats, supporters and aides sitting cheek by jowl. Dozens of photographers ringed Clinton as she spoke.

In discussing the problem of peacemaking in the Middle East, Clinton referred to her husband's extensive, though ultimately unsuccessful, efforts to strike a comprehensive peace deal.

"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem and many presidents, including my husband, have spent years trying to help work out a resolution, we cannot give up on peace," she said. She said that she and Obama are "deeply sympathetic to Israel's desire to defend itself" against Hamas rockets fired from the Gaza Strip but also worried about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"We must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians; that effectively challenges Iran to end its nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of terror, and persuades both Iran and Syria to abandon their dangerous behavior and become constructive regional actors." she said.

Lugar, who has played a leading Senate role in arms control issues, applauded Obama's stated intention to engage Russia in more arms control talks and pursuing efforts to improve international controls of nuclear materials that could fall into the hands of terrorists. He said that during the Bush administration the State Department had been a "reluctant or almost nonexistent partner" in that effort. Clinton said she intended to bring more arms control experts back into the State Department, where arms control functions had been "significantly degraded" under Bush.

At the outset , Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the new chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, pressed Clinton on whether Obama sees a nuclear-armed Iran as unacceptable at any cost, or merely undesirable.

Clinton responded: "The president-elect has said repeatedly it is unacceptable. It is going to be United States policy to pursue diplomacy - with all of its multitudinous tools - to do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon state. As I also said, no option is off the table."

She said the new administration would pursue a broader approach to the problem of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On Iraq, Clinton said ending the war is a priority. The first step will be moving troops out of cities by June, in line with an agreement already established between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. The agreement calls for all U.S. troops to be gone by the end of 2011. Obama has said he believes the withdrawal can be accomplished more quickly.

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.

By ROBERT BURNS and ANNE FLAHERTY , The Associated Press, January 13, 2009

With Hearing Today, Clinton, Kerry and Obama Begin to Realign Their Roles

When Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) gavels the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to order today and welcomes Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to her confirmation hearing as President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to be secretary of state, he will mark the ascendance of a new triumvirate dominating the foreign policy arena.

The hearing will also call attention to a particularly awkward tangle of relationships.

Kerry, who first put Obama in the national spotlight by inviting him to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, endorsed Obama over Clinton early in the 2008 presidential primaries, much to the irritation of the Clinton campaign. But Obama chose his defeated nemesis for the top diplomatic position -- a job that Kerry openly sought with the backing of many prominent Obama supporters. Instead of joining the Obama Cabinet, Kerry became chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, with the goal of leading it back to its former prominence.

Now, the three appear to have largely put the past behind them, with Kerry and Clinton having preliminary discussions about what foreign trips they can take together and Obama working to forge a close working relationship with Clinton in a series of regular phone calls and meetings since he chose her for secretary of state in mid-November.

Still, Kerry will have a different mission than Clinton and the president she serves. In an interview, Kerry said it is not his goal to hold the Obama administration's feet to the fire. "On the other hand, I don't work for them," Kerry said. "The committee is an independent branch . . . and where necessary, we're obviously going to push and cajole and prod and try to hold accountable. But we'll do it in a way that I hope is entirely constructive and in partnership wherever possible."

It was also on the committee that Kerry developed a reputation as an investigator, digging into the financing of terrorist networks in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He said he hopes to bring that investigative spirit to the committee as a whole, not to unravel wrongdoing of the Bush administration but to shed light on murky global transactions, such as those involving offshore entities and U.S. money spent on anti-narcotics efforts. He is also planning a robust environmental program, in addition to retaining the committee's regular status as a kind of "think tank" that addresses international issues as they emerge.

Kerry said he expects Clinton to face some tough questioning from committee members today, with one likely subject her husband's business dealings, but said he expected the atmosphere to remain deferential and serious. And he professed little disappointment in not getting the job himself.

"It's hard to sort of sit here as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, with my independence and freedom I have to get engaged on almost any issue on foreign policy, and be worried about disappointment," Kerry said. "I have my freedom and I have my independence, and there are some assets to being there [at State], there are some great assets to being here. And I'm not going to be a grass-is-greener kind of guy. This is good. I'm fine."

Clinton has been cramming hard for her first test; she has been especially eager to master the differences between her statements on the campaign trail and those of the president-elect, whose foreign policy vision she will now be in charge of executing. What is not yet clear is whether Clinton will have her own set of priorities in the job, or whether she has developed a strategic approach to the world and America's role in it.

Clinton, in her opening statement, will stress two themes, according to transition officials: a renewal of American leadership and a revitalization of diplomacy to promote U.S. security interests and advance U.S. values. A transition official said Clinton will emphasize the use of "smart power," press for greater resources for the State Department and promise to work with Congress in a bipartisan manner on foreign policy.

The former first lady has long described herself as a pragmatic internationalist, someone who adapts to situations as they present themselves and does not adhere to strict formulas. She will assume her new job at a time of great economic peril and when the United States' reputation around the globe is at a low ebb.

"We have to be both internationalists and realists," Clinton said in a key foreign-policy campaign speech in 2007. "We can rebuild our alliances and restore our moral authority, and reestablish our leadership in the world."

Yet even her campaign speeches did not suggest a strategic framework for approaching the world, relying instead mostly on her unique biography and her exposure to more than 80 countries while her husband was president. "She is clearly very smart, and I have no doubts about ability to master the brief," said Stephen Walt, an international affairs professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. "But Hillary has not laid out any particular view or blueprint about America's role in the world."

To be sure, Clinton will be charged with undertaking an agenda largely set by Obama, and transition officials say her confirmation hearings will be a forum to lay out that agenda, not hers.

Even before the election, a task force appointed by Obama had produced a 35-page report on the key issues facing the State Department and the new secretary, according to Wendy Sherman, a close adviser to Clinton who headed the State agency review team. A 15-person team then followed up with even more briefing papers, drawn from more than 400 meetings with insiders and outside groups. The State Department produced its own blizzard of paper, including unvarnished personal essays from each assistant secretary of state and every chief of mission overseas.

"She read absolutely everything. It must have run into the thousands of pages," said Sherman, adding: "She wants to hit the ground running. She is going to be thorough but decisive."

One of Clinton's earliest tests as secretary of state will be the current conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where the heavy toll of Palestinian deaths has outraged Arabs. As a senator, Clinton earned a reputation as one of Israel's strongest defenders, even asserting during the Democratic primaries that the United States could "obliterate" Iran if it launched a nuclear attack on Israel and arguing that the United States should not negotiate with Hamas unless the group renounced terrorism.

Yet nine years ago as first lady, Clinton kissed and embraced Suha Arafat, the wife of then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, after Suha Arafat made inflammatory remarks about Israel, including allegations of using poison gas against Palestinians. (Clinton later said the translation of the remarks was incomplete.) She also called for the creation of a Palestinian state before the Clinton administration officially endorsed the idea.

Clinton, along with incoming national security adviser James L. Jones and other Obama officials, have discussed the Gaza conflict every day and have begun to map out their response depending on the scenario that confronts them on Jan. 20, transition officials said. Top officials already have developed talking points and contingency plans, but Clinton and Obama have given little hint on what they will do, except to suggest that they will move quickly to help shape an end to the hostilities and will be highly sensitive to the conflict's impact on U.S. credibility in the region.

Kerry, in the interview, said he believes that by Jan. 20 there will be a cease-fire in the region -- and that Clinton's first moves will be dictated by events on the ground. It is quite possible, he said, that she will start by appointing a Middle East envoy, and letting the most important players in the region know that the administration intends to be deeply engaged in either negotiating a cease-fire, if one has not already been arranged, or enforcing one.

By Anne E. Kornblut and Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, January 13, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state, rejected calls Tuesday for more details about donors to her husband's foundation, saying she has revealed enough to avoid even the hint of conflicts. An Associated Press review found that Clinton stepped in at least a half-dozen times on issues involving businesses and others who later gave to the charity.

Clinton said as secretary of state she will not be influenced to act on behalf of her husband's contributors, which include foreign governments.

"It will not be in the atmosphere," Clinton said.

Richard Lugar of Indiana was among GOP senators on the Foreign Relations Committee pressing for full transparency about contributors to the William J. Clinton Foundation and one of its main projects, the Clinton Global Initiative.

Under an agreement with Obama, Bill Clinton recently released the names of donors to his foundation, a nonprofit that has raised at least $492 million - including millions from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments - to fund his library in Arkansas and charitable efforts worldwide on such issues as AIDS, poverty and climate change. He pledged to release similar information annually. The donor list doesn't provide exact amounts, background on donors such as their employers, or the dates of donations.

Lugar, the committee's top Republican, urged Hillary Clinton to immediately disclose donations of $50,000 or more; alert ethics officials when any gift of that size is pledged or given by a foreign entity, whether an overseas government, individual or business; and reveal the year a donation was made and the amount, or at least the range, of a donor's giving in that year.

Revealing pledges is particularly important, Lugar said: "So if we're going to have an argument it happens right then, and therefore if it's not a good idea, that it's stopped and the compromise for the State Department, for foreign policy, for you is prevented as rapidly as possible, within days rather than in months or in years."

Clinton noted that under the agreement, foreign government pledges will be submitted to the State Department for review. She said it was unprecedented for a former president to agree to the disclosure her husband has, and that she was confident the current arrangement would avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest.

"I don't know who will be giving money. That will not influence," Clinton said. "When the disclosure occurs, obviously it will be after the fact, so it would be hard to make an argument that it influenced anybody because we didn't know about it."

The AP reported Tuesday that Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies and others that later contributed to her husband's foundation. The AP obtained three pieces of the correspondence under the Freedom of Information Act.

The letters and donations involve pharmaceutical companies and telecommunications and energy interests. An aide to the senator said she made no secret of her involvement in many of the issues. Bill Clinton's foundation declined to say when it received the donations or precisely how much was contributed.

"Throughout her tenure, Senator Clinton has proven that she acts solely based on what she believes is best for the state and people she represents, without consideration to any other factor," said spokesman Philippe Reines. "In these instances, she was doing what the people of New York elected her to do: Work hard on the issues of importance to them."

Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation both declined to answer questions about whether the senator tried to step away from issues directly affecting donors to her husband's charity, and whether the foundation tried to screen out money from those on whose issues the senator had intervened.

Hillary Clinton wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in February 2004 expressing concern that changes to competitive local exchange carrier access rates could hurt carriers such as New York-based PAETEC Communications. PAETEC's chief executive is Arunas Chesonis, whose family and charity later contributed to the Clinton foundation.

Sarah Wood, executive director of the Chesonis Family Foundation, was invited by a part of the Clinton Foundation - the Clinton Global Initiative - to join the initiative after it was established in 2005, Wood said Monday. The Chesonis family personally paid $15,000 for Wood's membership in CGI in September 2007, and the Chesonis foundation paid $20,000 for it in March 2008, Wood said.

The Chesonis Family Foundation made a $10 million pledge last May to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for solar energy research, meeting Wood's commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to act on a project, Wood said.

Wood said the Chesonis foundation was unaware of the senator's letter to the FCC on the PAETEC issue and didn't have any contact with her office.

PAETEC spokesman Christopher Muller said PAETEC had no involvement in the Chesonis donations to the Clinton foundation. PAETEC asked Hillary Clinton to intervene with the FCC on its behalf, he said.

"Yes, PAETEC feels strongly that a competitive telecom environment is in the best interests of New York businesses and consumers," Muller wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "PAETEC has petitioned numerous elected officials in the markets which we serve in an effort to retain the spirit of the Telecom Act of 1996." The issue is still pending at the FCC, and PAETEC remains involved in it, Muller said.

Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, company spokeswoman Amy Rose said. Merck has been a member of CGI since 2006, when dues were $15,000. In 2008 membership dues rose to $20,000. As part of its commitment to CGI, Merck sponsors public health initiatives around the world, Rose said. Merck joined CGI on its own initiative, she said.

Hillary Clinton wrote a November 2005 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt urging approval of the human papillomavirus vaccine. Merck applied in December 2005 for approval of its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, and the vaccine was approved for use in females ages 9 to 26. Merck is still seeking approval for use in older women, Rose said.

Rose said Merck's participation in the Clinton Global Initiative was unrelated to Hillary Clinton's letter. Merck didn't communicate with Hillary Clinton or her office about its HPV vaccine and was unaware of her letter before it was sent, Rose said.

Another letter involved an issue important to Barr Laboratories. Sens. Clinton and Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote to Leavitt in August 2005 urging that "science, not politics" guide the agency and "that a decision be brought swiftly on Plan B's application." Leavitt's office described the Clinton letter as pertaining to Barr's application for Plan B, the emergency contraceptive also called the morning-after pill.

Barr Laboratories gave $10,001 to $25,000 to the Clinton foundation, the charity's donor list shows. Barr joined the Clinton Global Initiative in April 2007, Barr spokeswoman Carol Cox said. Cox didn't comment on Clinton's letter.

Several of the letters involve issues directly affecting KeySpan Corp., the energy company now known as National Grid. KeySpan didn't ask the senator to intervene and had no communication with her office about its later donations to the Clinton foundation, said company spokesman Chris Mostyn.

KeySpan joined the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007 because it wanted to become involved in the climate change issue, Mostyn said. KeySpan paid $15,000 for its membership in 2007 and $20,000 for 2008, Mostyn said.

Clinton joined several other members of Congress from New York in February 2003 asking the Commerce Department to consider an appeal by Islander East, a limited liability company formed by subsidiaries of KeySpan Energy and another company, to build a natural gas pipeline to serve Connecticut, New York City and Long Island, N.Y.

Clinton and the other lawmakers wanted the Commerce Department to overturn the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's determination that Islander East's pipeline plan was inconsistent with the state's coastal zone management program. Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd and other Connecticut lawmakers wrote to Commerce urging denial of Islander East's appeal.

Clinton earlier wrote to the Long Island Power Authority and to KeySpan urging them to consider the modernization of KeySpan's New York power plants. Her letter in June 2002 offered her help on the issue. Also in 2002, Clinton wrote the federal government letters on the natural gas Millennium Pipeline Project in which KeySpan was involved, urging an extension of a deadline for public comment and forwarding information on route alternatives.

Mostyn said KeySpan didn't ask Clinton to get involved in the issues. The Millennium Pipeline began commercial operations in December, the Islander East project is on hold due to Connecticut's rejection of permits, and the company is working with the Long Island Power Authority to study power plant modernization, he said.

By SHARON THEIMER, The Associated Press, January 13, 2009

Obama's press aide says concerns about his taxes and an immigrant housekeeper are minor. Senators question Hillary Clinton on possible conflicts. Hearings for other Cabinet choices go smoothly.

The nomination of Timothy Geithner to be secretary of the Treasury ran into a speed bump today, amid reports that he failed to pay some personal taxes and questions about the immigration status of a housekeeper.

Geithner, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for later this week, met with senators who will decide his nomination.

Although most of the attention today focused on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's testimony to become secretary of State, Senate committees also held hearings on three other appointments as the process of building a government slowly moved forward.

Steven Chu, the nominee for Energy secretary, and Arne Duncan, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of Education, also testified today, as did Housing and Urban Development nominee Shaun DonovanThe Senate is hoping to better its 2001 effort when it approved seven Cabinet chiefs before George Bush was sworn in for his first term. Obama will be inaugurated next week.

So far, hearings have been held on at least five nominees with no controversy.

Last week, Tom Daschle, Health secretary nominee, and Hilda Solis, Labor nominee, testified as expected. Daschle, a former senator and majority leader, faced cordial questioning on health policy issues though he will be back to testify again. Solis, a Los Angeles congresswoman, was questioned about her support for organized labor, which raised some questions for Republicans but not enough to hurt her chances in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Today, Clinton was questioned about former President Bill Clinton's foundation and the possible appearance of conflicts of interest in donations by foreign governments that might be seeking to curry favor with the new secretary of State. She insisted there would be no problem. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have already agreed to more transparency on donations.

Chu, a Nobel prize-winning physicist, was confronted by questions about coal usage in his appearance today before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Chu, who has strong environmental credentials and often calls global warming a key problem, once called coal "my worst nightmare" because of its emissions.

But coal is a major U.S, resource, and its use is not likely to end soon. Today, he came out strongly in favor of clean coal technology, which seemed to satisfy the committee.

Duncan, the former Chicago schools chief, called for education reform today but gave no specifics during his Senate appearance. If confirmed, he will face a host of issues, including revisions to the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind program, charter schools and merit pay for teachers, which is generally opposed by unions.

In another friendly hearing today, Donovan, formerly New York City's housing chief, was encouraged to be an aggressive secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The collapse of the housing and mortgage market was one of the causes of the current economic turmoil. HUD oversees the Federal Housing Agency, and senators told Donovan that he faced a big job.

Former Army Gen. Eric Shinseki is scheduled to testify on Wednesday on his appointment to head the Veterans Administration. Though he was forced out of the Bush administration because of a dispute over the number of American troops needed to keep the peace in Iraq, there is no ill will against him in the Senate. His platform of cleaning up the VA's health system and making the agency more responsive to veterans will likely go over well.

Also appearing at hearings on Wednesday will be Tom Vilsack, who has been named to take over Agriculture, and Ray LaHood, who has been nominated as Transportation secretary. Vilsack could face some questions about ethanol and crop subsidies while LaHood, a departing Republican congressman from Illinois, will probably have an easy time despite some questions about infrastructure needs.

Thursday will be a more contentious day, with Sen. Ken Salazar and Eric Holder testifying in their respective quests to become Interior secretary and attorney general.

Holder is expected to face questions about his role in investigating pardons issued by the Clinton administration, particularly the one granted to fugitive financier Marc Rich. Salazar, a Democratic senator from Colorado, is expected to face questioning about his view of land use and mining on federal lands. Some environmental groups have questioned his appointment.

Hearings on Thursday for two other key appointments could have some fireworks.

Geithner is expected to testify in support of his nomination to be secretary of the Treasury. He will probably be questioned about his role in helping to put together a $700-billion bailout package already approved by Congress and his plans for the next stimulus package now being debated in Congress. He could also face questions about his housekeeper.

Janet Napolitano, who's been chosen to take over Homeland Security, could face questions about immigration and border issues, always contentious topics, and security, another issue that often raises red flags because of concerns about government power and individual rights.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, will not have to face another hearing. Still to be named is the next Commerce secretary after Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew because of questions about campaign contributions.




By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times, January 13, 2009

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton called Tuesday for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East that goes beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to address other pressing issues like Iran's nuclear program.

While offering no specific new peace proposal, Clinton spoke confidently of President-elect Barack Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.

"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem and many presidents, including my husband, have spent years trying to help work out a resolution, we cannot give up on peace," she told her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She said that she and Obama are "deeply sympathetic to Israel's desire to defend itself" but also worried about the humanitarian situation.

Clinton fielded an array of non-contentious, often friendly, questions from Democrats as well as Republicans, signaling the likelihood that she will be confirmed swiftly.

The panel's ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar, praised Clinton, calling her "the epitome of a big leaguer" whose presence could open new opportunities for American diplomacy.

But Lugar also raised questions about the issue of former President Bill Clinton's fundraising work and its relation to her wife's new post. Lugar said that the only way for Clinton to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to her husband's charity is to forswear any new foreign contributions. The Indiana senator said the situation poses a "unique complication" that requires "great care and transparency."

Clinton spoke in a clear, unhurried voice and looked at ease as she read a long introductory statement. She sat alone at a small, black-draped desk, with daughter Chelsea and a retinue of advisers behind her. Her husband was not present. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the former president was watching the hearing elsewhere with his wife's mother.

"President Clinton wanted to make sure the attention was focused on Sen. Clinton," Vietor said.

The Senate hearing room was packed with ambassadors, current and former diplomats, supporters and aides sitting cheek by jowl. Dozens of photographers ringed Clinton as she spoke.

The Senate also was holding confirmation hearings for four other Obama choices for Cabinet and top White House positions. Appearing were Peter Orszag, to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Nabors II, for deputy director of OMB; New York housing official Shaun Donovan, to be secretary of housing and urban development; Steven Chu, to head the Energy Department; and Arne Duncan, as education secretary.

Chu promised that if confirmed as energy secretary he will aggressively pursue policies aimed at addressing climate change and achieving greater energy independence by developing clean energy sources.

At the outset of Clinton's hearing, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the new chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, pressed her on whether Obama sees a nuclear-armed Iran as unacceptable at any cost, or merely undesirable.

Clinton responded: "The president-elect has said repeatedly it is unacceptable. It is going to be United States policy to pursue diplomacy - with all of its (tools) - to do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon state. As I also said, no option is off the table."

She said the new administration would pursue a broader approach to the problem of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On Iraq, Clinton said ending the war is a priority. The first step will be moving troops out of cities by June, in line with an agreement already established between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. The agreement calls for all U.S. troops to be gone by the end of 2011. Obama has said he believes the withdrawal can be accomplished more quickly.

"It is being done within the context of the status of forces agreement, which (has) now clearly set forth the path that both the Iraqi government and the United States government intend to follow," Clinton said. "There is some differences in timing but the important aspect of the so-called SOFA is that the United States government and President Obama will be withdrawing troops and the Iraqi government not only accepts that but wishes to facilitate that."

Clinton also promised to push for stronger U.S. alliances around the globe.

"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own," Clinton said, "and the world cannot solve them without America."

She assured the committee that if confirmed, the State Department "will be firing on all cylinders" - applying pressure when needed and looking for opportunities to advancing U.S. interests.

By ROBERT BURNS and ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press, January 13, 2009

WASHINGTON - As Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to take over as secretary of state, a coterie of emissaries who have made the Arab-Israeli conflict their specialty for decades is pushing for a more assertive and balanced American approach to a region once again torn by war.

All are members of a close-knit but fractious fraternity that has dominated the American debate over the Arab-Israeli problem. Each has written a book assessing the failures of the past and offering prescriptions for the next president. All agree that with Gaza in flames, the United States needs to make a renewed push for peace.

But they differ sharply on how best to do that. At the heart of the debate is whether Washington should continue to embrace Israel as uncritically as it has during the Bush administration, and should it become as deeply engaged in the minutiae of peace talks as it did under Bill Clinton.

With Israel intensifying its assault against Hamas militants in Gaza, the experts argue, the next administration should act as a broker between Israel and the Palestinians, but it should avoid squandering American influence by becoming too heavily vested in a single solution.

"We've allowed our special relationship with Israel to become exclusive," said Aaron David Miller, who advised several administrations on the Middle East. "We acquiesced in too many bad Israeli ideas; we road-tested every idea with Israel first."

Those dispensing the advice - Mr. Miller, Dennis B. Ross, Martin S. Indyk and Daniel C. Kurtzer - are the same Middle East hands who advised Mr. Clinton in his long, futile pursuit of a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

With some of them in line to work for Mrs. Clinton, their rivalries, frustrations and ambitions are playing out in full view. Mrs. Clinton, of course, is hardly an empty vessel on the Middle East. She brings her own views and experience, stemming from her years as first lady, when she immersed herself in Mr. Clinton's peacemaking efforts and was criticized for appearing to tilt toward Palestinian interests. Later, as a New York senator, she honed a reputation as a champion of Israel.

People who know Mrs. Clinton say she is eager to recruit a fresh face to handle the Arab-Israeli issue, perhaps reaching beyond the circle of Middle East stalwarts. Still, in the debates playing out on cable talk shows and in opinion columns, the discussion keeps coming back to members of this group, all of whom are Jewish and have collectively worked for 5 presidents and 10 secretaries of state.

They bring three decades of experience in one of the most politically booby-trapped parts of the world. But they have been sidelined for much of the Bush presidency, which has relegated the Middle East peace process to secondary status.

Mr. Ross, who has been an important player on Middle East issues since the Reagan administration, is the most prominent member of the group. The others have each played a more subordinate role, though Mr. Indyk and Mr. Kurtzer have both been ambassadors to Israel, and Mr. Miller has advised six secretaries of state.

Mr. Miller speaks the most freely of the former advisers because he is the one with virtually no chance of another government job. Mr. Clinton, he said, was so stung by his public criticism that he refused to talk to him for his book, "The Much Too Promised Land." Anyway, he said, Middle East peacemakers ought to have term limits.

But the others are still in the game. Mr. Ross, 60, is expected to receive a senior post at the State Department, officials said, directing policy on Iran and advising on the rest of the Middle East.

Mr. Kurtzer, who was also ambassador to Egypt, has been an adviser to Barack Obama and is mentioned as a possible special envoy for Arab-Israeli talks. So is Mr. Indyk, who advised Mrs. Clinton during her presidential campaign - though his prospects for a job seem slim.

Mr. Miller's heroes are Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III, secretaries of state who he says dealt with Israel in a tough but fair manner. He argues that Mr. Clinton's embrace of Israeli leaders, while well intentioned, undermined the ability of the United States to seal a deal with the Palestinians. Nonsense, says Mr. Indyk, who argues that Washington's close relationship with Israel is crucial because it assures the Palestinians and other Arabs that the United States has leverage with Israel.

"The school of beating up on Israel is fundamentally wrong because it just causes Israel to dig in its heels," said Mr. Indyk, whose book, "Innocent Abroad," praises Mr. Clinton for his unflagging commitment to a deal but is unsparing about the flaws in his approach.

Mr. Clinton, he wrote, became too immersed in details, losing sight of the big picture. His determination to sign a deal before he left office in 2001 was unrealistic and even counterproductive, Mr. Indyk said, because neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians felt the same pressure.

While Mr. Indyk and his colleagues believe the next president needs to push for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, he said, the United States will have to go about it in a more realistic way.

"It will need to be a way that is less naive in its assumptions, more modest in its ambitions, more humble in its approach and more imaginative in its anticipation of what can go wrong," he said.

Mr. Kurtzer, who like Mr. Miller was a deputy negotiator in the Clinton White House, argued that Mr. Clinton was less disciplined or strategic than his predecessor, the first President Bush. The White House, he said, did not adequately prepare for the Camp David summit meeting in July 2000, which contributed to the collapse of the meeting without an agreement after two weeks. The United States also did not reach out enough to Arab countries, Mr. Kurtzer said in his book, "Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace," which he wrote with Scott B. Lasensky.

Some of the tension between the advisers is personal. During the Clinton administration, friends of Mr. Kurtzer and Mr. Miller say, the two chafed at being subordinate to Mr. Ross, a tall, self-confident diplomat with keen political instincts.

The criticism of Mr. Clinton is delivered in sorrow rather than anger. After all, Mr. Clinton burnished the reputations of these men. All landed comfortable perches at think tanks or universities, not to mention book contracts. Mr. Ross's book, "The Missing Peace," was published in 2004.

For all their differences, the advisers agree on one thing: the disengagement from Israeli-Palestinian issues that President Bush practiced in his first term was a failure. The Obama administration, they said, will have little choice but to dive into the issue. But Mrs. Clinton faces a rough ride, Mr. Indyk said, because "the Gaza crisis has so weakened the hands of those who would make peace."




By Mark Landler, The New York Times, January 12, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State appointee Hillary Rodham Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies and others that later contributed to her husband's foundation, an Associated Press review of her official correspondence found.

The overlap of names on former President Bill Clinton's foundation donor list and business interests whose issues she championed raises new questions about potential ethics conflicts between her official actions and her husband's fundraising. The AP obtained three of the senator's government letters under the Freedom of Information Act.

Clinton was to begin her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Under an agreement with President-elect Barack Obama, Bill Clinton recently released the names of donors to his foundation, a nonprofit that has raised at least $492 million - including millions from foreign governments - to fund his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts worldwide on such issues as AIDS, poverty and climate change.

The letters and donations involve pharmaceutical companies and telecommunications and energy interests. An aide to the senator said she made no secret of her involvement in many of the issues. Bill Clinton's foundation declined to say when it received the donations or precisely how much was contributed.

"Throughout her tenure, Senator Clinton has proven that she acts solely based on what she believes is best for the state and people she represents, without consideration to any other factor," spokesman Philippe Reines said. "In these instances, she was doing what the people of New York elected her to do: Work hard on the issues of importance to them."

Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Clinton Foundation both declined to answer questions about whether the senator attempted to step away from issues directly affecting donors to her husband's charity, and whether the foundation tried to screen out money from those on whose issues the senator had intervened.

"Generally, through a combination of rigorous adherence to Senate and FEC income and asset disclosure rules, coupled with the voluntary and unprecedented release of the names of every single Foundation supporter since its inception, the Clintons are by far the most financially transparent former first couple in American history," Reines said.

Sen. Clinton wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in February 2004 expressing concern that changes to competitive local exchange carrier access rates could hurt carriers such as New York-based PAETEC Communications. PAETEC's chief executive is Arunas Chesonis, whose family and charity later contributed to the Clinton foundation.

Sarah Wood, executive director of the Chesonis Family Foundation, was invited by a part of the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, to join the initiative after it was established in 2005, Wood said Monday. The Chesonis family personally paid $15,000 for Wood's membership in CGI in September 2007, and the Chesonis foundation paid $20,000 for it in March 2008, Wood said.

The Chesonis Family Foundation made a $10 million pledge last May to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for solar energy research, meeting Wood's commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to act on a project, Wood said.

Wood said the Chesonis foundation was unaware of the senator's letter to the FCC on the PAETEC issue and didn't have any contact with the senator's office.

PAETEC spokesman Christopher Muller said PAETEC had no involvement in the Chesonis donations to the Clinton foundation. PAETEC asked Clinton to intervene with the FCC on its behalf, he said.

"Yes, PAETEC feels strongly that a competitive telecom environment is in the best interests of New York businesses and consumers," Muller wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "PAETEC has petitioned numerous elected officials in the markets which we serve in an effort to retain the spirit of the Telecom Act of 1996." The issue is still pending at the FCC, and PAETEC remains involved in it, Muller said.

Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, company spokeswoman Amy Rose said. Merck joined CGI in 2006, when dues were $15,000, and also was a member in 2007 and in 2008, when membership dues rose to $20,000. As part of its commitment to CGI, Merck sponsors public health initiatives around the world, Rose said. Merck joined CGI on its own initiative, she said.

Sen. Clinton wrote a November 2005 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt urging approval of the human papillomavirus vaccine. Merck applied in December 2005 for approval of its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, and the vaccine was approved for use in females ages 9 to 26. Merck is still seeking approval for use in older women, Rose said.

Rose said Merck's participation in the Clinton Global Initiative was unrelated to Sen. Clinton's letter. Merck didn't communicate with Clinton or her office about its HPV vaccine and was unaware of her letter before it was sent, Rose said.

Another letter involved an issue important to Barr Laboratories. Sens. Clinton and Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote to Leavitt in August 2005 urging that "science, not politics" guide the agency and "that a decision be brought swiftly on Plan B's application." Leavitt's office described the Clinton letter as pertaining to Barr's application for Plan B, the emergency contraceptive also called the morning-after pill.

Barr Laboratories gave $10,001 to $25,000 to Clinton foundation, the charity's donor list shows. Barr joined the Clinton Global Initiative in April 2007, spokeswoman Carol Cox said. Cox didn't comment on Clinton's letter.

Several of the letters involve issues directly affecting KeySpan Corp., the energy company now known as National Grid. KeySpan didn't ask the senator to intervene, and had no communication with her office about its later donations to the Clinton foundation, company spokesman Chris Mostyn said.

KeySpan joined the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007 because it wanted to become involved in the climate change issue, Mostyn said. KeySpan paid $15,000 for its membership in 2007 and $20,000 for 2008, Mostyn said.

Clinton joined several other members of Congress from New York in February 2003 asking the Commerce Department to consider an appeal by Islander East, a limited liability company formed by subsidiaries of KeySpan Energy and another company, to build a natural gas pipeline to serve Connecticut, New York City and Long Island, N.Y.

Clinton and the other lawmakers wanted the Commerce Department to overturn the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's determination that Islander East's pipeline plan was inconsistent with the state's coastal zone management program. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and other Connecticut lawmakers wrote to Commerce urging denial of Islander East's appeal.

Clinton earlier wrote to the Long Island Power Authority and to KeySpan urging them to consider the modernization of KeySpan's New York power plants. Her letter in June 2002 offered her help on the issue. Also in 2002, Clinton wrote the federal government letters on the natural gas Millennium Pipeline Project in which KeySpan was involved, urging an extension of a deadline for public comment and forwarding information on route alternatives.

Mostyn said KeySpan didn't ask Clinton to get involved in the issues. The Millennium Pipeline began commercial operations in December, the Islander East project is on hold due to Connecticut's rejection of permits, and the company is working with the Long Island Power Authority to study power plant modernization, he said.

By SHARON THEIMER, The Associated Press, January 13, 2009

WASHINGTON - From the disappointment of a failed White House bid, Hillary Rodham Clinton is on the threshold of the world's stage as chief diplomat for the Democrat who defeated her.

Clinton appeared set to sail smoothly through a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, despite concerns among some lawmakers that the global fundraising of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, could pose ethical conflicts for her as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state.

"There's no stumbling block," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview Monday. The panel could vote on Clinton's nomination as early as Thursday. If she is approved, as expected, she could be confirmed by the full Senate as early as Inauguration Day.

In advance of the hearing, Hillary Clinton reached out to individual senators through telephone calls and face-to-face meetings, including an hourlong session with Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the committee.

On Monday night, outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley hosted a dinner for Clinton and Hadley's successor, retired Gen. James Jones, at the State Department, officials said.

Among the main themes Clinton planned to present in her testimony were the importance of elevating the role of diplomacy, in conjunction with military strength, to achieve the nation's foreign policy goals, according to a transition official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Clinton, 61, also intended to emphasize areas in which she and Obama think alike, including their conviction that in order to make gains abroad the United States needs to strengthen its domestic economy, the official said. And she planned to emphasize the importance of boosting the State Department's budget.

Republicans are not expected to try to block the nomination and have even been generous in their praise of Clinton.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Clinton expresses herself well and won't make any "rookie mistakes." When asked what she wanted to discuss with Clinton, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she would focus on how to "build on America's role as an Arctic nation," as well as major issues like the crisis in the Middle East and nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

Clinton, who entered the Democratic presidential primary race as the front-runner but lost to Obama, is primed to take over a State Department wrestling with a vast array of diplomatic challenges, from the crisis in Gaza and stalled peace efforts in the Middle East to nuclear worries in south Asia.

In significant respects, the Clinton and Obama views on foreign policy are compatible.

Like Obama, Clinton has said the U.S. should make a more focused commitment to stabilizing Afghanistan and pushing Pakistan to eliminate the havens al-Qaida terrorists have found on its territory.

Both favor closing the prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Both support the continued expansion of the Army and the Marine Corps, and they share the view that the Bush administration undervalued international diplomacy.

Carlos Pascual, vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, said in an interview Monday that Obama and Clinton both look at key issues in their global context - the spread of nuclear know-how and materials, the wide impact of economic reversals, the international reach of terrorist networks and the transnational impact of disease and poverty.

From the moment it became known that Obama was considering nominating Clinton, questions arose about her husband's charitable work and whether it might pose a conflict of interest for her as secretary of state.

Lawmakers have asked for more details on an agreement she and Obama worked out after the election. As outlined in a Jan. 5 letter from the former president's lawyer, ethics officials at the State Department will be allowed to review overseas contributions made to Bill Clinton's charity. The State Department also will be able to assess in advance the former president's consulting work and speaking engagements.

The Senate is also holding four confirmation hearings Tuesday for other Obama choices for Cabinet and top White House positions. Appearing will be Peter Orszag, his choice to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Nabors II, for deputy director of OMB; New York housing official Shaun Donovan, to be secretary of housing and urban development; Steven Chu, to head the Energy Department; and Arne Duncan, as education secretary.

By ROBERT BURNS and ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press, July 13, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers want more details on an agreement between Hillary Rodham Clinton and President-elect Barack Obama intended to ensure that her husband's charitable work would not pose a conflict of interest if she is confirmed as secretary of state.

In a plan made public last year and outlined in a Jan. 5 letter by former President Bill Clinton's lawyer, ethics officials at the State Department will be allowed to review overseas contributions made to Bill Clinton's charity. The State Department also will be able to assess in advance the former president's consulting work and speaking engagements.

The plan is intended to ensure that Bill Clinton's work would not conflict with his wife's duties as the nation's top diplomat. Countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, as well as the State Department contractor Blackwater, have contributed to his charitable foundation, which financed his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., and efforts to reduce poverty and treat AIDS.

Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview Monday that he and other senators want to know whether any overseas contributions might be excluded from the oversight requirement and exactly how the disclosure process will work.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to testify before the panel on Tuesday.

Kerry said that while members want to ensure proper oversight, he does not see any sticking points that would prevent the Senate from eventually confirming Clinton.

"There's no stumbling block," he said.

Last month, the William J. Clinton Foundation opened its books for the first time, disclosing online the names of its 205,000 donors and the range of their contributions. Among the donations was between $10 million and $25 million from the Saudi Arabian government and between $10,001 and $25,000 from Blackwater Training Center.

A spokesman for Obama said at the time that an agreement had been reached with the foundation to continue to disclose its donors on an annual basis.

In his letter this month to State Department Deputy Legal Counsel James Thessin, David Kendall confirmed that the department's ethics officials will be able to assess contributions of countries "that elect to increase materially their commitments" to the foundation. The State Department also will be able to assess any plans Bill Clinton has for consulting work and review potential speaking engagements two weeks in advance.

Kendall called the steps voluntary and said they go "above and beyond" the law and ethics regulations. In a separate letter to Thessin, Hillary Clinton said she wanted to avoid "even the appearance of a conflict" and asked that she be advised on any further steps she can take to "avoid any actual or apparent conflicts of interest."

In advance of the hearing, Hillary Clinton has been reaching out to individual senators through telephone calls and lengthy sit-down meetings, including an hourlong meeting last month with Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Republicans are not expected to try to block Clinton's appointment and have even been generous in their praise of Clinton, who spent eight years as the junior senator from New York.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she expresses herself well and won't make any "rookie mistakes." When asked what she wanted to discuss with Clinton, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said how to "build on America's role as an Arctic nation," as well as major issues like the crisis in the Middle East and non-proliferation efforts.

Likewise, Democrats said they want to probe Clinton on matters they believe should take precedence when she takes office.

"We've basically been talking ourselves around the world," said Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who served with Clinton on the Armed Services Committee.

Webb said he has told Clinton in private discussions that the U.S. should establish diplomatic ties with Iran and that he thinks NATO expansion has gone too far. He also said the U.S. needs to pay more attention to Asian countries other than just China and that Afghanistan must take priority as the U.S. moves troops out of Iraq.

While Webb declined to say how Clinton responded, he said he is confident she'll handle the job.

"I think she's going to do a great job. I really mean that," Webb said. "She's got the intellect for it. She's been around the world. She's really anxious to do some good things."

The committee is expected to vote on Clinton's appointment on Thursday, before the start of a separate confirmation hearing for Susan Rice, Obama's pick for U.N. ambassador.

If approved by the panel, Clinton could be confirmed by the full Senate after Obama takes office on Jan. 20.

By ANNE FLAHERTY, The Associated Press, January 12, 2009

A warm reception is expected in the Senate this week for her secretary of State confirmation hearing.

Reporting from Washington -- Long considered one of the nation's most polarizing figures, Hillary Rodham Clinton steps into her new role as America's chief diplomat this week with a Senate confirmation hearing that is likely to look more like a tribute than an examination of a controversial politician.

Clinton has fanned political passions as first lady, as New York's junior senator and as a presidential candidate. Yet she is collecting rhetorical bouquets from Republicans as she prepares for the Tuesday committee appearance that will open the way for her fourth public incarnation -- as secretary of State.

"Very knowledgeable," Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said after a private meeting with her Thursday. "Her appointment is a net plus for the administration and the country."

"She's been tested in a lot of ways," said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who called Clinton a "known commodity."

The warm reception reflects in part the courtesy the Senate extends to its own and to a popular new president. But it also shows how attitudes from across the political divide have eased over the course of Clinton's long public life.

"She's now a fixture of American politics; this gives you a sense of how people can be gradually accepted," said Ross K. Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University and a former congressional staff member. "Her record's familiar, and they don't see her as mysterious or fear they're going to be booby-trapped by her."

In a similar transformation, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) was once considered a partisan hatchet man, but more recently has been remembered -- and hailed -- as having been a public-spirited pillar of the Senate. On Thursday, the retired Dole introduced another former Senate majority leader, Democrat Tom Daschle, at the South Dakotan's confirmation hearing to be secretary of Health and Human Services.

Conservative attitudes toward Clinton have changed as she has detailed her foreign policy views, which lean toward the center or even the center-right. She has been hawkish on the defense of Israel and tough on Iran, and said during her presidential campaign that the United States would "obliterate" the Muslim country if it attacked Israel.

Isakson said he found a long discussion with Clinton on the Middle East to be "very satisfactory."

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), the Foreign Relations Committee chairman, has scheduled a committee vote on Clinton's nomination two days after the hearing, reflecting his confidence that her confirmation won't require more lengthy debate.

However, one issue likely to produce some discomfort is that of President Clinton, whose foundation has received millions of dollars from foreign governments and businesses, raising questions of potential conflicts of interest. Bill Clinton's foundation last month released contribution records and has promised to disclose future donations annually.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), the ranking minority member of the committee, intends to raise the issue in his opening remarks. Other senators also intend to make clear that the subject causes them some concern.

But senators and aides said they didn't expect the topic to overshadow all others, since the lawmakers want to explore Sen. Clinton's views on the full range of foreign policy issues. Andy Fisher, a spokesman for Lugar, said he expected close questioning on the topic but added: "I don't expect it to be protracted throughout the day."

One question that may not be settled until Tuesday is whether Clinton will bring her spouse and family to her confirmation hearing, as is Senate custom for Cabinet nominees.

Clinton's aides said that because of scheduling issues, it was not clear whether the former president would accompany his wife.

While having him there -- sitting behind her in the audience -- would have some advantages, it could also prompt questions about the former president, said Tom C. Korologos, a lobbyist and longtime congressional aide who has helped prepare nominees for such hearings.

"Will he travel with her?" Korologos asked. "Who gets off the plane first?"

Korologos thinks it would be a mistake for the former president to appear.

Yet some committee members are eager for Bill Clinton to play an important role in his wife's job as secretary of State.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said after a meeting with Hillary Clinton that he wanted Bill Clinton to provide advice and would favor a formal role if that was what President-elect Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wanted.

"I would be comfortable with getting his help on a whole series of fronts," Casey said.




By Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times, January 12, 2009