Confirmation Thread #2: “Smart Power” calls for a smart woman

NOTICE: if you are watching on TV, C-Span is switching back and forth between C-Span2 and 1. The hearing is now on C-Span1.

(bumped up AGAIN by SusanUnPC because it’s nearly time for the resumption of the hearing and there will be more questioning — although I did hear there might be a slight delay because PEBO is also on the Hill today. OF NOTE: Since I put in rather long but fascinating sections from the hearing this morning, it will be faster for you to shoot instantly to the Comments section by clicking “Comments” above.)

For more stories on today’s confirmation hearing, check out Memeorandum.com’s excellent round-up of both MSM and blog reports.

12:50 p.m. UPDATE: C-Span is taking caller questions. Call in to 202-585-3885 IF YOU SUPPORT THE NOMINATION. 1:50 p.m. UPDATE & PLEA: Some of those calls were awful. If C-Span takes calls at the conclusion of the hearing later today, I hope some of you will dial in early so your more intelligent and positive observations can be heard! I presume the same phone # will be used.
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That “smart woman” was one “hot ticket” this morning in Washington, D.C.:

The Hot Ticket | 9:20 a.m. In the Hart building, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins taking testimony from Senate Hillary Rodham Clinton, a long line of people waiting to get in has formed along the outside hallway. (NYT blog)

OF NOTE: The Senate committee site hasn’t posted Hillary’s opening statement yet, but I will get it for you. I’m also adding great humorous moments. Those senators. They really know how to crack a joke.

Short snippets from the Washington Post:

In a veiled swipe at the outgoing Bush administration, she said she and Obama “believe that foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology.”

Clinton pledged to strengthen ties with U.S. allies. “We must build a world with more partners and fewer adversaries,” she said. “America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America.”

She also called for the use of “smart power” in confronting myriad challenges ranging from terrorism to global climate change. ….

HERE are snippets from the NYT live-blogging, particularly on the plight of women as well as Lugar’s grilling of Hillary on, sigh, Bill’s foundation + a wildly comedic moment that ensued:

DON’T DRINK ANY COFFEE FIRST! HOLD YOUR SIDES! JOHN KERRY IS GONNA SPLIT ‘EM!

For You Young Senators Out There … | 9:38 a.m. Senator John Kerry opened his remarks by noting the historical nature of the incoming administration — both the president-elect and the vice-president elect were members of the Senate, a feat that many senators might aspire to.

But, Mr. Kerry, who ran unsuccessfully in 2004 as the Democratic presidential nominee joked, that “before any of the newer members of our committee get too excited about future prospects,” he, Senators Chris Dodd, Senator Dick Lugar and Senator Clinton could all say: “Trust us, it ain’t automatic.”

I know, I know. The NYT has more such lame, so lame … oh well.

ON THE ISSUES:

A Gender Mission | 11:43 a.m. Senator Boxer displays photographs of women who were burned in acid attacks, punished for divorce or other matters and Senator Clinton responds emphatically.

It is her hope, she promises, to persuade more governments “that we cannot have a free, prosperous, peaceful progressive world if women are treated in such a discriminatory and violent way.” In addition to the attacks on Pakistani women outlined by Senator Boxer, Mrs. Clinton cites the attacks on young school girls by Taliban sympathizers.

“They want to maintain an attitude,” she charged, “that keeps women unhealthy, unfed, uneducated, and this is something that results all too often in violence against these young women.”

“This is not culture, this is not custom, this is criminal,” she said.

“Speaking broadly and promising that she would place an emphasis on areas like the Office on Human Trafficking and the Women’s Office, she said: I want to pledge to you that as Secretary of State, I view these issues as central to our foreign policy not as adjunct or in any way lesser. …”

Set Your Ego Aside | 11:33 a.m. Now it’s Senator Barbara Boxer’s 10 minutes, and she doesn’t hesitate to bluntly address the changing roles Senator Clinton has played recently, alluding to her presidential bid last year. As a compliment, Ms. Boxer says: “You are working with your toughest rival and you set your ego aside.”

Arms Reduction | 11:27 a.m. On nonproliferation issues, Senator Clinton assures Mr. Lugar that the incoming administration will come in with a “very strong commitment” to extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty treaty with Russia. The ranking Republican had listed START as one of his priorities.

She pays homage to what she and Senator Obama have learned on related issues through Senator Lugar’s tutelage. And she becomes animated in promising that she and others hope to recruit many technical experts who left the government in the last eight years of the Bush administration.

Darfur and Sudan | 11:18 a.m. On Darfur and the Sudan, asked what options are under consideration by the incoming administration to alleviate the situation there, Senator Clinton said she and others were reviewing the policy alternatives at this point.

(Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times)
“There is a great need for us to sound the alarm again about Darfur. It is a terrible humanitarian crisis,” she added, fueled by a “corrupt and very cruel regime.” Mr. Obama, Vice President-elect Biden, Mrs. Clinton and others were considering such options as “no-fly zones, other sanctions, and sanctuaries.”

She also said they were looking at the potential for the UN force to not only protect the refugees, but also “to repel the militias.”

Feingold Mentions Foundation | 11:10 a.m. Mr. Corker has now departed for another hearing; Senator Russ Feingold briefly mentioned the issues surrounding the Clinton Foundation/library and indicated that he had concerns. But Mr. Feingold, a longtime champion of public disclosure in campaign finance issues, said he would seek answers to his questions in writing.

‘No Need to Sully’ Your Work | 11:00 a.m. A rising voice in Republican circles, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, has now begun questioning Mrs. Clinton, and refers to the measures Senator Lugar would like to impose on the Clinton Foundation. “There’s just no need to sully or dampen” her work, said Mr. Corker, who was elected to the Senate in 2006.

More Failed Presidential Run Comedy | 10:59 a.m. Lots and lots of leftover presidential ambitions here. At one point, Mrs. Clinton addressed Senator Kerry as “Mr. President,” to which he interjected he’d accept that title. As she corrected herself, to say “Mr. Chairman,” Senator Kerry joked, “We’re both subject to those.”

Dealing With Iran | 10:56 a.m. In terms of how to deal with Iran, Senator Clinton stresses, that the incoming administration is not “taking any option off the table at all.” Pressed about UN sanctions and whether they would work, she asserted that Mr. Obama and the administration would “do everything we can to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon state.”

Questions Begin | 10:48 a.m. Senator Kerry is now beginning the question, and he starts in right away on the nuclear threat Iran poses. In addition, he refers not to Senator Clinton’s campaign statements, but to one made by her former rival, Mr. Obama, on the need for the use of “big carrots” and “big sticks.”

[...]

The Clinton Foundation | 9:50 a.m. One of the issues that had complicated Senator Clinton’s selection for a Cabinet post was the far-reaching tentacles of her husband’s foundation, whose donors had previously been largely held secret. Republicans are expected to raise some issues about those dealings at this hearing, even though the Obama transition team and the Clintons have forged an agreement that will allow for more public disclosure of donations and overseas work.

But Mr. Lugar cited the dangers of the foundation’s acceptance of contributions and the complications brought about with Mr. Clinton’s sweeping global connections:

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. Although neither Senator Clinton, nor President Clinton has a personal financial stake in the foundation, obviously its work benefits their legacy and their public service priorities. There is nothing wrong wit hthis, and President Clinton is deservedly proud of the Clinton Foundation’s good work in addressing HIV/AIDS, global poverty, climate change, and other pressing problems.

But the Clinton Foundation exists as a temptation for any foreign entity or government that believes it could curry favor through a donation. It also sets up potential problems with any action taken by the secretary of state in relation to foreign givers or their countries. The nature of the Secretary of State post makes recusal from specific policy decisions almost impossible, since even localized U.S. foreign policy activities can ripple across countries and continents. … The bottom line is that even well intentioned foreign donations carry risks for U.S. foreign policy.

While Mr. Lugar noted the agreement worked out between the Obama transition team and the Clinton Foundation for disclosure of donors and ethics reviews of any future foreign donations, he contends in his advance remarks that the Clinton Foundation should “forswear new foreign contributions” once Senator Clinton assumes her new post.

Of the existing agreement’s conditions for donations and reviews, Mr. Lugar called them “positive steps.” But he continued: “I am hopeful that the Clinton foundation and the Obama administration will go further to ensure that the vital business of U.S. foreign policy upon which the security of our country rests, it is not encumbered by perceptions arising from donations to the foundation. If there is the slightest doubt about the appearance that a donation might create, the Foundation should not take it. If there are issues about how a donation should be disclosed, the issues should be resolved by disclosing the donation sooner and with as much specificity as possible.”

Mr. Lugar said he would not go through all the additional “transparency measures” that he was proposing, but indicated that Mr. Clinton’s foundation had already agreed to one of them.

(Mr. Lugar’s staff had indicated earlier that Republicans on the committee did not intend to ask former President Clinton to appear before the committee.)