Madame Secretary Clinton to build ties in Jakarta

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on the second leg of her four-nation Asian tour.

During her brief visit, Mrs Clinton is scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other senior officials.

They will discuss a range of issues including education and climate change.

But Mrs Clinton’s visit is also being carefully watched for signs of a new US policy towards the Muslim world.

This is in some ways the most intriguing part of her Asian tour.

The symbolism is powerful – her first visit to a Muslim majority country; a stable, democratic country, half a world away from the Middle East.

And in a sign of the breadth of expectations Mrs Clinton will face here, her welcoming party included both senior government officials, and students from US President Barack Obama’s old school.

‘Mutual respect’

Mr Obama spent some of his childhood in Jakarta and there is a lot of goodwill among Indonesians towards his new government.

He has already made it clear he wants a new kind of relationship with the Muslim world, based on “mutual interests and mutual respect”.

Mrs Clinton’s visit will be carefully watched for signs of that new engagement – and also for signs that Washington wants to develop closer ties with South East Asia.

Indonesian officials have privately said that is exactly what they are hoping for; that they would welcome closer co-operation with the new US administration.

Relations between the two governments grew markedly under former President George W Bush, with the normalisation of military ties and cooperation on counter-terrorism, following a spate of bomb attacks by Islamist groups here.

But they deteriorated among the population in general, as a result of US policies in the Middle East, and its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

That is still what defines most attitudes here.

Many people say they welcome the symbolism of Mrs Clinton’s visit, and are pleased with President Obama’s election, but that they do not expect too much real change.

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Hillary in Japan… follow her photo journey…

Madame Secretary renewing old friendships, as with the Empress of Japan whom she met years ago when First Lady of the United States.

Empress Michiko of Japan greeted visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo with a hug and a peck on each cheek, an unusually warm welcome in Japanese culture. Clinton started her first foreign tour as U.S. Secretary in Japan, but her warm reception was due to her past role as First Lady.

To start the day, Clinton participated in a purification rite and welcoming ceremony at a Shinto shrine to the father of modern Japan, Emperor Meiji. She said its message of ‘balance and harmony’ would set the tone for the Obama administration’s foreign policy, especially in tough economic times.

Hillary Clinton visits Meiji Shrine

In the several public appearances she made today, Hillary repeatedly stressed the importance of America’s relationship with Japan. She also announced that Taro Aso would be going to Washington next week, making him the first foreign leader to visit and meet with Obama since the new president took office .

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) is welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso prior to their talks at Aso’s official residence in Tokyo February 17, 2009. Clinton is visiting Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China this week on her first foreign trip as U.S. Secretary of State.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton enters a town-hall meeting with students from Tokyo University in Tokyo February 17, 2009.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at a town-hall meeting to  students from Tokyo University in Tokyo February 17, 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Japan’s Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone attend at their joint news conference at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo February 17, 2009.

Hillary and Tony Blair

Secretary Clinton Hosts Tony Blair

Feb. 4, 2009

Secretary Clinton meets with Tony Blair, Quartet Envoy at the State Department.

Hillary receives special envoy George Mitchell

Remarks by Secretary Clinton and Special Envoy Mitchell After Their Meeting

February 03, 2009

Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State

George Mitchell, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace

Washington, DC

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning. I welcomed our Special Envoy George Mitchell back from his trip to the Middle East and Europe this morning, and we were able to have a long discussion about what he heard and learned in the region. This kind of diplomatic force projection that Special Envoy Mitchell represents is something that both the President and I believe very strongly in, and I was pleased that the President agreed to appoint Senator Mitchell. And of course, he quickly sprang into action.

He has described to me the steps that he discussed with the various parties to obtain a sustainable and durable ceasefire. We especially commend Egypt for its leadership role in working through the complex issues concerning a ceasefire. Senator Mitchell also discussed how we can better mobilize humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza and to coordinate the efforts underway or anticipated in the international community.

This is the first of what will be an ongoing, high level of engagement by Senator Mitchell on behalf of myself and the President. We are looking to work with all of the parties to try to help them make progress toward a negotiated agreement that would end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, create an independent and viable Palestinian state in both the West Bank and Gaza, and provide Israel with the peace and security that it has sought.
We are looking forward to the results of the Israeli elections so that we can begin working with a new Israeli government. We are working with the Palestinian Authority under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad to support their efforts to continue the progress that they have made in providing security and meeting the needs of the Palestinian people.

Link

| 03.02.2009 | 23:00 UTC

Steinmeier meets US secretary of state in Washington

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described Germany as one of Washington’s closest allies. Clinton made the statement following a meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Washington. This was the first face-to-face contact between the German government and the administration of US President Barack Obama. Clinton said she had thanked Steinmeier in particular for Germany’s commitment to efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan. Germany has more than 3,000 troops in that country as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Steinmeier focused his comments to reporters on the need to establish a new trans-Atlantic agenda. Both Steinmeier and Clinton expressed concerns about the news that Iran had succeeded in launching its first domestically built satellite. Iranian state television said the satellite was designed for use for peaceful purposes only.

Will Bower interviewed by Newsweek…

Focused and determined; Will rakes Obama flip-flops, Biden and Obamamaniacs and praises Hillary!

h/t Darragh: Newsweek article

PUMApac and P.U.M.A.08, Darragh and Will together were the heart and soul of the PUMA movement . As the original founders of each entity, together, both had a strong sense of what needed to be done to get Hillary elected. I loved hearing Will on Blog Talk Radio. His insight and focus was an invaluable rudder to maintaining the course of the good ship PUMA and together they presented a strong united front.. I’m posting the body of his interview and link to it here: Newsweek

Holding Out in Hillaryland

Will Bower, 36, walked around the Mall with millions of other Americans this morning. But unlike nearly everyone else in the crowd, Bower wasn’t cheering. He wore a Hillary Clinton T shirt (adorned with a HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT sticker) to show his support for the woman he feels the Democratic Party and a sexist media stole the election from. Bower recently left his job as an intellectual-property researcher at Thomson Reuters in order to work full time for the pro-Clinton group he cofounded, PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) ‘08. Bower, who is now living off of savings to work full time on what he calls his “labor of love,” has focused his efforts on reforming the primary system, which he says is undemocratic. NEWSWEEK’s Suzanne Smalley spoke with Bower by phone today.

NEWSWEEK: Is PUMA still active?

Bower: Yes. People feel like we don’t have a clear objective. The problem is we have many clear objectives. During the 2008 primaries, so many things went wrong and we were inspired by so many of them–primary reform, misogyny in media, media reform … There are many different PUMAs [dedicated to different issues].

What do you mean by many different PUMAs?

There are a lot of different PUMA Web sites and PUMA actions. There is still plenty of e-mailing and Web activity. We all have different Web sites and leaders. We all get along and agree on most things. My biggest thing is the need for primary reform…That’s probably not going to be a hot topic for a few years, but I’m working on it for down the road. I’m working on lobbying the Republican National Committee to work on primary reform there … I want them to learn from the mistakes the Democrats made in 2008. The primacy of Iowa and New Hampshire–why are we held hostage by these two small states? It’s insanity.

Are they not representative states?

No, they’re really not. Everyone thinks Iowa has this really engaged citizenry and they know what they’re doing. But fewer than 10 percent of Iowa voters participate … Since 1972 the caucuses have failed Democrats at every turn. [Some people will say] Obama won Iowa and went on to win. Well, we’ll see in four years whether Iowa has really served us. It’s basically about who has the best ground game.

Do you plan on working for PUMA indefinitely?

I intend on being critical of Barack Obama for the next four years. I do recognize him as president. I think he’s the rightful president, but I don’t think he’s the rightful leader of the Democratic Party. That sounds ironic, but I believe that Hillary Clinton … was the winner and represented the will of the people. She is my political leader … I wanted her to stay in the Senate, be the lion of the Senate, the next Ted Kennedy. I wanted her to be her own boss … and represent the 18 million who voted for her. Now that she’s in the executive branch I’m looking at her as our shadow president … A lot of us are taking comfort in the fact that she’ll be our shadow president and someone to look out for our interests abroad.

Did you go to the inauguration?

I wasn’t going to go out to the festivities, but I went out in my Hillary gear [a T shirt depicting Clinton as Rosie the Riveter] … There were two thumbs ups, a couple of scoffs, and a lot of stares.

Why did you go?

I was going to lock myself in and not watch TV and I got a few calls from friends saying, “Aren’t you going to participate?” … And then I said I might as well go outside and watch and then I thought I might as well be supportive of Hillary while I do it.

How does it make you feel seeing all of the exuberance over Obama and his inauguration?

I feel that this is supposed to be Hillary’s day, to be honest. I feel he’s unqualified … A lot of what scares me is Obama mania and all. I feel like I’m living in “American Idol,” a four-year episode of “American Idol” … It feels like mass hysteria–the pictures, the jargon … If this were all going on for Hillary I’d like to think I’d take a step back and say, “This is crazy.” It is a little unsettling, the fanaticism.

What is your reaction to what Jill Biden said on the Oprah Winfrey show yesterday [that her husband, Vice President Joe Biden, was given his choice of jobs–secretary of state or vice president]?

It seems like it’s a never-ending stream of minor insults. Every step of the way the Obama administration finds a way to insult Hillary. They’re finding a way to take another jab at Hillary–that she got sloppy seconds … The fact that Dr. Biden was so casual about something like that means a lot.

When you say it means a lot what do you mean?

I don’t think these are naive people. She’s a politician’s wife … It’s hard to believe someone would be that careless on Oprah. [woo-hoo, great insight Will. You bet that was deliberate not a slip-up!]

Tell me more about your focus on primary reform.

It took one state to determine who our candidate would be [in 2004]. I’m from Ohio and knew John Kerry would not win Ohio so I felt trapped by what Iowa had done to us … When I saw what happened in 2004 I wrote a proposal in December 2007 and that was published. Then Huffington Post picked it up. I want a truly mathematical, geometrical system … to order primaries based on margins of victory in the general election before … to focus on the Ohios, Pennsylvanias and Wisconsins and Floridas–the states right in the middle, the purple states. Parties go after those states anyway; we might as well tailor our primaries that way, to appeal to voters in those states instead of getting candidates who appeal to extremes, John Kerry on one side and George Bush on the other.

Were you one of the PUMAs supporting McCain?

I was … for a few reasons. I wanted McCain to win so I could go back to being a Democrat, so the behavior in the primaries would not be rewarded. I went on to genuinely like McCain. It gave me a chance to get outside of the Democrat bubble I’ve been living in. I’ve voted for 18 years and never voted for anything but Democrats. It started as a protest vote and I ended up liking and admiring John McCain. Now I call myself an independent Democrat kind of like Joe Lieberman.

Given all the problems facing us, are you rooting for Obama to succeed?

Yes. I don’t want him to fail; that would be bad for the country. I plan on being critical of him though. He’s already dropped the ball. He campaigned on the fact that he would lift the Bush ban [on stem cells and] now is saying, “Leave it to Congress” … The pledges [he made] were political in nature. There was very little conviction behind them and it surprises me how few Democrats see that. I’m going to do my best to get Democrats and liberals to hold him accountable. [and Pumas, I hope!]

First PUMA cartoon

Caroline, a Kennedy enigma.

What in the world would possess a woman of Caroline’s stature to make such a fool of herself? Is she standing on the precipice of a nervous breakdown?

Once the darling of Americans nationwide, it seems for reasons unknown (speculation doesn’t count) Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is having her druthers in which direction to turn. Had Jackie been alive, she would have told Caroline “STAY AWAY” from the sewer of Politics. That was Jackie’s mandate for John Jr. She built an insular bubble around her children with what else….MONEY! Is that a sin… No, I don’t think so. Is it a smart thing to do? You bet it is.

I remember reading Jackie’s biography where she was told by her attorney and confidante handing her financial affairs after she asked him, “How am I doing financially?”
He turned to her and said, “Jackie, you have ONE more shopping trip left, then you are BROKE!”

I can just see Jackie’s jaw dropping at the horror of it all thinking, how will I protect my children from the onslaught of access by the sharks and jackals just waiting to get at my children? She knew it was a sheer impossibility. The Kennedy Klan were not forthcoming with gobs of money keeping Jackie in the style she was accustomed-to. After all, Joe Kennedy Sr was still master at the helm. He never quite got over Jack’s death and was in a terrible state of depression unable to think about anything else except what might have been-

I doubt Caroline has ever given it a second thought how smart her mother was about the dirty game of Politics. Or how Jackie outwitted the political sewage at every turn because she cared so deeply for her children.

I’ve said this before in anther post. Caroline ought to read a few biographies written about her mother. Jackie wasn’t just a women who appreciated the nice things money could buy, the museum benefit socializing crowd, the poetry, editing books, updating the White House decor. Jackie was a woman of the World. She didn’t have it easy, coming from a broken home torn between her mother and father.

Learn from your mother Caroline, not from the political bent of man so out of step with morality he’s gone over the cliff. This is just the first time, you got to experience Uncle Teddy’s idea of a joy ride!

Caroline OUT! WOO-HOO!

Puma volunteers and concerned New Yorkers…. CONGRATULATIONS! You WERE MARVELOUS!

You NEVER GAVE UP! tpt/NY and madam… you girls were GREAT!

From Out of Nowhere, Caroline withdraws her name from consideration for Senate

Earlier posts from around the web:

01/21/2009

.Just Breaking; and seems to be complete surprise; Caroline withdraws her name from consideration for Senate bid, citing “personal reasons.

NY POST

Caro line Kennedy has told Gov. David Paterson that she is withdrawing her name from consideration to replace outgoing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the U.S. Senate, The Post has learned.

Kennedy cited “persoal reasons,” according to sources.

MORE: Caroline The ‘Certain’ Pick For Dave: Rivals

Her stunning move comes as sources revealed that Paterson had intended to appoint her to the now-vacant seat today.

The 51-year-old Camelot daughter’s decision removes the highest-profile name in the ring to step into Clinton’s seat, as she departs after getting confirmed as President Obama’s Secretary of State today.

The surprise decision leaves a crowded field of about 15 people, mostly elected officials, vying to replace Clinton – including Long Island Rep. Steve Israel, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Carolyn Maloney.

For the first time on Tuesday, shortly after Obama was inaugurated, Paterson acknowledged publicly that he is considering state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for the slot.

Senate confirms Hillary by overwhelming majority as secretary of state

Immediately after the vote, Clinton was to be sworn in during a private ceremony at the Capitol.

The Senate voted 94-2. The dissenting Republican Senators Bitter “Dave” Vitter of Louisiana and Jim “DeMented” DeMint from So. Carolina opposing.

Senator McCain came to the rescue and called off the deliberate attempt of those irksome partisan Republican dogs threatening to stall Hillary’s confirmation. Thank you, John McCain!

“The administration also planned to name former Senate Democratic leader George J. Mitchell as Clinton’s special envoy for the Middle East. Dennis Ross, a longtime U.S. negotiator, was also expected to advise Clinton on Mideast policy, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the move. “

So, what is happening here? George Mitchell? Was he a last minute appointment. Who did he replace? Very interesting- the plot thickens.

For the most important pressing question of the day.

WHERE ARE PICTURES OF HILLARY IN HER INAUGURAL BALL GOWN?

It seems there has been a total BLACKOUT of pictures of Hillary and Bill at the Inaugural Ball!

Salute to Greatness…for Hillary at King Center..

Hillary Clinton Honored In Atlanta By King Center

Sunday, January 18, 2009

ATLANTA — Mere days before Barack Obama is set to make history as the nation’s first black president, the woman who battled him for the Democratic nomination was honored by a leading civil rights organization. Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. senator from New York and secretary of state designee, received the “Salute to Greatness” award at a fundraiser Saturday night for the King Center in Atlanta.

The event came just before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, marking what would have been the slain civil right’s leader’s 80th birthday.Clinton echoed King’s theme of service and called on Americans to rally behind Obama, the man who defeated her for the Democratic nomination for the White House. “This is an all hands on deck moment for America,” Clinton said.

She praised Obama as “a young man of such enormous promise” and said his election brought King’s dream within reach. “The election of Barack Obama is a big step closer to the realization of that dream but that doesn’t let us off the hook does it?”

Clinton said.She said the nation still faces challenges in providing health care and economic opportunity to all. And she recalled being transfixed when at age 13 she heard King speak on a chilly January evening in Chicago. Clinton was introduced Saturday night by former Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young.

Link

Why Caroline?

Does anyone have any idea why we need Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg as an inexperienced Senator to represent New Yorkers? Suggestions requested!

It seems to me Caroline benefits from the percs of being a Senator more than New Yorkers benefit from her taking up a seat she is unqualified to act upon.

Isn’t what she is doing in direct contradiction to what her father said at his Inauguration Speech?

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask, what YOU can do for your country!”

Caroline has never done a ding, dang thing, except telemarket for donations before she hired someone to do that for her.   And is it really in the best interest of the People of New York for a Senator and her entire family to have such close ties to a president that they may have to say “NO” to when legislative issues come about that are NOT in the best interests of the People?

How do we know she has the capability to “Just Say No, Obama?”   I believe that is a salient point that just doesn’t compute and New Yorkers need to respond in kind with their fears especially to the Governor, who  under pressure from the TOP,   is scheduled to appoint her!