From the Frontrunner
Negotiated NO Agreements, Spent Little Time with Heads of State
The Washington Post (3/21, A6) reports that entries in Sen. Hillary Clinton's recently-released schedules offer "a case study of her foreign policy role during her husband's presidency." On a typical visit, "she devoted little time to heads of state and negotiated no agreements, but instead met community leaders, explored local issues and culture, hit major tourist sites and gave speeches on women's rights and other topics important to her." The Post continues to note that her campaign "has depicted her as a virtual secretary of state, circling the globe to bring peace to troubled lands and open borders for refugees," while "Sen. Barack camp has presented her as a glorified USO officer, entertaining troops and having tea with crown princesses." The schedules "present a more mixed picture." The Post quotes an anonymous "former senior State Department official" as saying, "She wasn't representing the United States as secretary of state, chairman of the Joint Chiefs or U.S. trade representative. But she was representing the United States, and she did have specific assignments."

The Washington Post (3/21, A15), drawing on Clinton's first lady schedules, prints a feature noting Clinton's activities on a number of "consequential" days in her husband's presidency. One typical example: "Aug. 6, 1993: The administration's deficit-reduction bill squeaks to final passage in the Senate by a single vote after heavy personal lobbying by President Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton attends multiple meetings on health care, including a session involving six Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee and an afternoon meeting in the Oval Office." The Post says that the fact that Clinton's schedules reflect little connection to these events belies the notion "that she was deeply involved in those events."