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As secretary of state, Clinton faces tough juggling act

BY TOM BRUNE | tom.brune@newsday.com

December 1, 2008

WASHINGTON - When Hillary Rodham Clinton steps up next to President-elect Barack Obama in Chicago today to accept the nomination as secretary of state, she will be taking on a portfolio whose importance was underlined dramatically by the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.

The increased tensions between India and Pakistan, both armed with nuclear weapons, over the attacks that killed at least 174 people will be just one of many challenges Clinton will face in what could be the job of her lifetime.

As Clinton noted herself as a presidential candidate, the next administration will inherit two wars, an anti-terrorist campaign, Iran's search for nuclear weapons, the continuing search for an Arab-Israeli peace, a resurgent Russia, a burgeoning China, climate change and global epidemics.

The trick for Clinton, said Georgetown University government professor Andrew Bennett, will be "juggling all these things. They are all high priorities and they all have interrelations between one another."

Obama's decision to chose Clinton, 61, his onetime fierce Democratic rival and currently the junior senator of New York, as the public point person on foreign policy has been called both a bold stroke and a questionable move.

Obama will make it official that he picked Clinton as one of five key members of his foreign policy and national security team, sources say, at a 10:40 a.m. news conference in Chicago.

Embedding Clinton and her star power in a group announcement - along with his picks for departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice - might suggest Obama is trying to put her role in perspective. But one scholar suggests that might be reading too much into it.

"Maybe they are just moving when they are ready to move," said G. Calvin Mackenzie, an expert in presidential appointments at Colby College, of Obama's transition aides. "This is a team of people who will hit the ground running."

Clinton and other Obama nominees appear headed for quick Senate confirmation after Obama becomes president Jan. 20.

But senators say they will first ask questions about her husband's international dealings, even though reports say former President Bill Clinton has agreed to restrict his activities in the future and to disclose his foundation's donors.

"I plan to vote in favor of her nomination," Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on ABC News' "This Week" yesterday.

"I suspect, however, that I'm not alone in suggesting that there will be questions raised, and probably legitimate questions," Lugar said in reference to Bill Clinton's post-presidential work.

Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a top aide in the failed presidential bid of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), praised Clinton, calling her "very smart" and "a friend ... known throughout the world" on "Fox News Sunday."

WHITE HOUSE

5 challenges she and Obama face

President-elect Barack Obama and his choice for secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, face a dangerous and difficult world with myriad challenges. Here are the top five most urgent priorities, according to Andrew Bennett, a foreign affairs specialist at Georgetown University.

1 RESTORE AMERICA'S IMAGE

After eight years of President George W. Bush's go-it-alone diplomacy, Clinton should mend some fences, soothe some allies and reassure the world that the United States is not only ready to lead but to listen. America's allies are critical to success in Afghanistan, in restraining Iran's nuclear program and in addressing the global economic crisis.

2 PAKISTAN A KEY TO STABILITY

Clinton should focus on Pakistan as the key to stability in the turbulent South Asian region. Its population of 154 million is five times that of Afghanistan, it has nuclear weapons, and the remnants of al-Qaida and the Taliban are hiding in northern Pakistan.