The Suddenly Blunt Secretary

Hillary Clinton’s political career has been defined by her caution. From senator to presidential candidate, an evolution that lasted fully seven years, she calculated and calibrated her every move, studying hard and playing it safe. Until the jolting prospect of losing to Barack Obama became a reality, Clinton was never open about anything in public.

In New Hampshire, opening up helped her come back from a surprise third-place finish in Iowa, but it didn’t last long. That was nearly 14 months ago, and in political life it is more like centuries. Now Clinton is her rival’s secretary of State and things have changed.

In her first trip abroad in her new role, Clinton showed she will not fade into the background, but instead become a strong voice on the international stage. She has already crossed several diplomatic lines during her debut voyage to Asia. As The Washington Post points out — “U.S. officials generally do not say their sanctions have failed, or speculate about the future government of another country, or suggest that a carefully watched human-rights dialogue is largely a farce.”

But Clinton did just that. Before she even met with Chinese officials in Beijing, she downplayed any discussion on human rights, saying she would raise the subject “but we pretty much know what they’re going to say.” This has come as a great surprise and disappointment to human-rights advocates who watched Clinton take on Beijing over the issue in 1995 and who argue that without international pressure there is little incentive for China to change.

It bears mentioning that of course we know going in what the Chinese will say, just like they know what our diplomats will say to them. Both sides come to the table with their well-known positions and — through fake smiles — repeat them over and over, year after year. But after announcing that the relationship with China will be our most important bilateral relationship going forward, Clinton has clearly put our economic cooperation with China ahead of the country’s progress on human rights. And she is being frank about it.

Clinton, heretofore a most un-blunt politician, now doesn’t understand the strong reaction to her sudden candor. “I think that to worry about something which is so self-evident is an impediment to clear thinking,” she told the press. “And I don’t think it should be viewed as particularly extraordinary that someone in my position would say what’s obvious.”

Madam Secretary has spoken. And there is probably a lot more coming.

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