Welcome Secretary Clinton: Obama's Promises to Be Kept

[Joanne98]

Although the steps between President-elect Obama's November 13 meeting with Senator Clinton in Chicago and the December 1 nomination of the latter for Secretary of State did not exactly embody the "no drama" brand of the former (and, behind the scenes, today's result almost didn't happen in ways that neither can ever now admit), all that is now officially water over the dam.

And so I take this opportunity to welcome Secretary Clinton and offer my full support for her work to implement President-elect Obama's campaign promises.

Senator Clinton crossed a threshold today from leading her own organization to being in a chain of command led by President-elect Obama. And - I speak as a critic of her historic approach to foreign policy and vocal opponent prior to her nomination (and yes, if it makes some happy to hear it, I was wrong in my earlier conclusion that it wouldn't happen, but as Obama, when faced with similar hectoring from the press corps likes to say, "that's all you're getting") - I welcome her, wish her well and will give her the benefit of the doubt that she will be a trustworthy team player unless and until she proves otherwise.

Now, let's take a look at some of the actions in this American Hemisphere that Secretary Clinton, once installed, will have to undertake to comply with the campaign promises made by candidate Obama, some of which run counter to her own campaign stances, others that she evolved to adopt during the campaign, and some big ones that are time bound, in which Obama and sometimes Clinton pledged to do them within "six months" or within "one year" from assuming office on January 20...

Typical of the national political press corps, Susan Page wrote in this morning's USA Today of a State Department mission that mystifyingly excludes the hemisphere to which the United States belongs:

...the incoming secretary of State will deal with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, efforts to turn around the war in Afghanistan, nuclear programs in such rogue nations as North Korea and Iran, the challenge from a resurgent Russia and growing concerns about global climate change.

But there is indeed a Western Hemisphere, and it is where US foreign policy over the past 16 years has caused the most blowback and harm to the most people inside the United States, more than its policies toward any other part of the world, more than even the war in Iraq. Think about that.

During the 2007 and 2008 presidential campaign, President-elect Obama made some very specific promises regarding changes to US foreign policy in our own neighborhood that Secretary Clinton will now be responsible to implement.

Nate Silver's inventory of Obama's campaign promises includes a number of them.

And as Markos Moulitsas commented on Nate's list last Wednesday, "Yeah, Obama's agenda is quite progressive. Whether he delivers on that agenda remains to be seen, of course, but I can't be all that worked up over his cabinet appointments if those appointee's jobs are to deliver on the agenda."

In this hemisphere, the compliance with Obama's campaign promises live where the rubber will meet the road, and that will determine Secretary Clinton's legacy, and to a much greater extent that of President-elect Obama...

Promise #1: Renegotiate NAFTA within six months

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/welcome-secretary-clinton-obamas-promises-be-kept