HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton

by Jonathan Allen

  1 mock-cupping the breast Al Kamen, “One More Question …,” Washington Post, December 4, 2008.

  2 “Senator Clinton is pleased” Ibid.

  3 “voice of reason” Amie Parnes, “Gatekeeper: Cheryl Mills,” Politico, April 24, 2009.

  4 “And she gets exactly that from Cheryl” Ibid.

  5 Ellen DeGeneres Ellen, October 14, 2005.

  6 Bush’s numbers were pathetic 2008 Pew Global Attitudes Project, December 18, 2013.

  7 “the willing suspension of disbelief” John Bresnahan, “Clinton: Believing Petraeus and Crocker Requires ‘Willing Suspension of Disbelief,’ ” Politico, September 11, 2007.

  8 “Smart power is neither hard nor soft” Joseph S. Nye Jr., Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004), p. xiii.

  9 limited the former president’s international activities Memorandum of Understanding between the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Office of President-Elect Barack Obama, December 18, 2008, http://on-msn.com/16ia6A0.

  10 every living secretary of state Glenn Thrush and Amie Parnes, “Land Mines Ahead for Hillary,” Politico, January 12, 2009.

  11 issued an invitation Helene Cooper, “Clinton to Dine with Condoleezza Rice,” New York Times, December 8, 2008.

  12 “the vanguard of our foreign policy” Hillary Clinton, Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “Nomination Hearing to Be Secretary of State,” January 13, 2009, U.S. Department of State, http://1.usa.gov/18N3YP2; video at http://bit.ly/189okWl.

  13 “She can’t show up the president” Thrush and Parnes, “Land Mines Ahead for Hillary.”

  14 the Times begged the committee “Bill Clinton’s Donors,” editorial, New York Times, January 10, 2009.

  15 “multimillion-dollar minefield” “Vitter to Vote Against Clinton Nomination,” Office of Senator David Vitter, January 15, 2009, http://1.usa.gov/19ENSrV.

  16 “This is not goodbye” Amie Parnes, “Clinton Bids Colleagues Farewell,” Politico, January 14, 2009.

  FIVE: “BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED”

  1 Marshall’s problem was less Alison Leigh Cowan, “Pick for Protocol Post Corrects Failure to File Taxes in 2 years,” New York Times, June 18, 2009.

  2 guaranteed a $1.3 million loan Adam Nagourney, “With Some Help, Clintons Purchase a White House,” New York Times, September 3, 2009.

  3 a tacit acknowledgment “McAuliffe Defeat Deals Latest Blow to Clinton Legacy,” Associated Press, June 11, 2009.

  SIX: FIRST AMONG EQUALS

  1 Orszag had children by three different women “Peter Orszag, Just Engaged, Acknowledges New Baby with Ex-Girlfriend Claire Milonas,” Washington Post, January 6, 2010.

  2 Young Republicans “U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates (’65) to Address William and Mary Graduates During Commencement Exercises, May 20, 2007,” College of William and Mary, March 30, 2007, http://bit.ly/1anYn3P.

  3 the unlikely pair Amie Parnes, “Cabinet Members Pile on the Love,” Politico, October 6, 2009.

  4 “the dilemma you face” Bob Woodward, Obama’s Wars: The Inside Story (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010), p. 222.

  5 McDonough confronted Holbrooke James Mann, The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power (Viking: New York, 2012), accessed via excerpt on Slate.com.

  6 McDonough shot Rothkopf a terse e-mail Helene Cooper, “The Adviser at the Heart of National Security,” New York Times, July 9, 2010.

  7 wrote a letter Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan (Random House: New York, 2012), pp. 1160–61 (e-book).

  SEVEN: “WE DID IT, BUDDY”

  1 a nearly comprehensive ban Larry Margasak, “Gore Employee May Have Misused Fund,” Associated Press, October 2, 1999.

  2 A former adviser to both Clintons Clinton Foundation Donor List, Fox News, December 18, 2008, http://fxn.ws/15hpyMU.

  3 PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi Louisa Lim, “U.S. Exhibit at World Expo Opens to Mixed Reviews,” National Public Radio, May 3, 2010.

  4 Chevron, General Electric, Honeywell Frederik Balfour, “U.S. Pavilion in Shanghai Expo Confirmed,” Bloomberg Businessweek, July 11, 2009.

  5 Harman’s company gave State Department report on Shanghai Expo, appendix XCVI.

  6 Boeing, the host of her earlier session “Clinton Appeals for Sponsorship for US Pavilion,” China Daily, November 16, 2009.

  7 Two days before “President Hu Visits Shanghai World Expo Park,” Chinese Government’s Official Web Portal, http://bit.ly/1eAVuPI.

  8 The reviews were fair John Pomfret, “Hillary Clinton Takes Break from International Issues, Visits World’s Fair in China,” Washington Post, May 23, 2010.

  9 But Reines had sidestepped Ben Smith, “Reines Storm: Clinton Conflict Brews,” Politico, March 24, 2009.

  10 During a classic photo-op moment Jill Dougherty, “Clinton Reset Button Gift Gets Lost in Translation,” Political Ticker, CNN, March 6, 2009.

  11 One Russian newspaper “Button Gaffe Embarrasses Clinton,” BBC News, March 7, 2009.

  12 as she walked from an elevator Ken Bazinet, “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Recuperating—Trying to Text—After Spill That Broke Her Elbow,” New York Daily News, June 18, 2009.

  13 a two-hour early morning surgery Mark Landler, “Clinton Will Undergo Surgery for Broken Elbow,” New York Times, June 18, 2009.

  14 She also missed out on Tina Brown, “Hillary, Take Off Your Burqa,” Daily Beast, July 13, 2009.

  15 The week after her fall Ben Smith, “Hillary Clinton Toils in the Shadows,” Politico, June 23, 2009.

  EIGHT: “USE ME LIKE AN APP”

  1 They had even invited him Steven Lee Myers, “Twitter Meets Cuneiform,” New York Times, April 22, 2009.

  2 On the very same day Mark Landler and Brian Stelter, “Washington Taps into a Potent New Force in Diplomacy,” New York Times, June 16, 2009.

  3 At a forum later that day Jeffrey Gettleman, “Clinton Presents Plan to Fight Sexual Violence in Congo,” New York Times, August 11, 2009.

  4 In January 2010 Josh Rogin, “Clinton Dines with Top Executives,” Foreign Policy: The Cable, January 8, 2010.

  5 A few months after the dinner John Poirier, “Tech Companies Seek Business in Syria,” Reuters, June 24, 2010.

  6 But that was a smokescreen Elise Labott, “Diplomats Blaze Uneasy Trail Along Digital Highway,” CNN, July 1, 2010.

  NINE: OBAMA GIRL

  1 “The clearance and vetting” Jill Dougherty, “Clinton: Vetting Process for Administration Jobs a Nightmare,” Political Ticker, CNN, July 13, 2009.

  2 “It’s my secretary of state calling” Sheryl Gay Stolberg and David M. Herszenhorn, “Bill Clinton Urges Fast Action by Senate Democrats,” New York Times, November 10, 2009.

  3 “news watchers” “Clarus Poll: Obama’s Inner Circle,” PR Newswire, December 16, 2009; Gallup Poll.

  4 “the whole eight” Tavis Smiley, “One on One with Hillary Clinton,” Tavis Smiley Reports, January 27, 2010.

  5 He cut radio ads Eric Kleefeld, “Bill Clinton Records Radio Ad for Blanche Lincoln,” Talking Points Memo, June 1, 2010.

  6 campaign for Mark Critz Genaro C. Armas, “Dems Keep Murtha Seat During Special Pa. Election,” Associated Press, May 19, 2010.

  7 and even auctioned off Chris Gentilviso, “Hillary Raffles Bill to Ease Campaign Debt,” Time, May 13, 2010.

  8 Obama’s aides had tried and failed Chris Cillizza, “Administration Officials Used Job to Try to Dissuade Senate Hopeful in Colorado,” Washington Post, June 3, 2010.

  9 After he fired Lloyd Grove, “Inside Obama’s Tense Meeting,” Daily Beast, June 23, 2010.

  10 “Don’t take that picture” “State Dinner Slip-up,” CBS Video, http://bit.ly/bBfnFU.

  11 like a sister to her Maggie Haberman, “Anthony Weiner Explained Self to Bill Clinton,” Politico, June 7, 2011.

  12 Bill, embracing Chelsea Reliable Source, “Clintons Celebrate Wedding
of Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner,” Washington Post, July 1, 2010.

  13 Bill presided over Celeste Katz, Kevin Deutsch, and Rich Schapiro, “Queens Rep. Anthony Weiner Marries Huma Abedin with Former President Bill Clinton Presiding,” New York Daily News, July 11, 2010.

  14 The dossier contained Scott Wong, “DeMint Threatens to Filibuster START,” Politico, December 2, 2010.

  15 When the committee voted in September J. Taylor Rushing, “START Treaty Passes First Test,” The Hill, September 16, 2010.

  16 a powerful blow to Obama William Branigin, “Obama Reflects on Shellacking in Midterm Elections,” Washington Post, November 2, 2010.

  17 Clinton met with members DipNote Bloggers, “Secretary Clinton and Senators Kerry, Lugar Discuss the New START Treaty,” U.S. Department of State Official Blog, November 17, 2010.

  18 Biden, the former chairman Peter Baker, “Obama’s Gamble on Arms Pact Pays Off,” New York Times, December 22, 2010.

  19 “I have to tell you” Peter Baker, “Clinton Battles Repeat of ’94, with a Twist on ’08,” New York Times, October 25, 2010.

  20 party dirty work for Obama Ben Smith, “Bill Clinton Pushed Kendrick Meek to Quit Florida Race,” Politico, October 28, 2010.

  21 a thirty-minute show from Clinton Perry Bacon, Jr., and Anne E. Kornblut, “Bill Clinton, Back in the White House Briefing Room,” Washington Post, December 10, 2010.

  22 Much was made in Washington “Inside Holbrooke’s War with the White House,” Daily Beast, January 14, 2011.

  TEN: PROMISE AND PERIL

  1 regime was “stable” Jeffrey Goldberg, “Hillary Clinton: Mubarak Regime Is ‘Stable,’ ” The Atlantic, January 25, 2011.

  2 “orderly, peaceful transition” Hillary Clinton, interview by David Gregory, Meet the Press, NBC, January 30, 2011.

  3 “What is clear” Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Situation in Egypt,” White House, February 1, 2011.

  4 “I really consider” Kirit Radia, “Secretary Clinton in 2009: ‘I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family,’ ” ABC News, January 31, 2011.

  5 “the promise and the peril” “Senate Confirmation Hearing: Hillary Clinton,” New York Times, January 13, 2009.

  6 “While some countries” Hillary Clinton, “Forum for the Future: Partnership Dialogue Panel Session” remarks, January 13, 2011, U.S. Department of State.

  7 French president Nicolas Sarkozy Nicholas Watt and Patrick Wintour, “Libya No-Fly Zone Call by France Fails to Get David Cameron’s Backing,” The Guardian, February 23, 2011.

  8 British prime minister David Cameron “Cameron: UK Working on ‘No-Fly Zone’ Plan for Libya,” BBC News, February 28, 2011.

  9 a set of mythological Valkyries Maureen Dowd, “Flight of the Valkyries,” New York Times, March 22, 2011.

  10 By March 12 “Arab League Backs No-Fly Zone in Libya,” CNN, March 12, 2011.

  11 “we urge our GCC partners” Jay Carney, press briefing, March 14, 2011, White House.

  12 “leading from behind” Ryan Lizza, “The Consequentialist,” The New Yorker, May 2, 2011.

  13 Later Moussa would complain Ian Traynor, “Arab League Chief Admits Second Thoughts About Libya Air Strikes,” The Guardian, June 21, 2011.

  14 “I think most members” Susan Rice, remarks to press, March 16, 2011, U.S. Mission to the United Nations, http://1.usa.gov/eGAqa7.

  15 “We definitely would like” Hillary Clinton, “townterview” by Nessma TV, Tunis, March 17, 2011, http://1.usa.gov/17WcjgT.

  ELEVEN: BELOW THE WATERLINE

  1 The president had been informed Mark Bowden, “The Hunt for ‘Geronimo,’ ” Vanity Fair, November 2012.

  2 “I find it hard to believe” Hillary Clinton, remarks at a roundtable with senior Pakistani editors, October 30, 2009, U.S. Department of State.

  3 “It may well be” Lauren Appelbaum and Andrew Merten, “Obama vs. Clinton on Pakistan,” NBC News, August 7, 2007.

  4 At home, she concentrated Michael Novinson, “State Department Reaches Out to Pakistani-Americans,” Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, June 12, 2009.

  5 “In the United States, do you” Hillary Clinton, “townterview” by prominent Pakistani women journalists, Islamabad, Pakistan, October 30, 2009, U.S. Department of State.

  6 Zardari countered by saying Peter L. Bergen, Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden—from 9/11 to Abbottabad (New York: Crown, 2012), p. 562 (e-book).

  7 the number of drone strikes “Pakistan Drone Strikes—Obama v. Bush,” New America Foundation, updated July 28, 2013, http://bit.ly/14CVPPZ.

  8 Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor Mark Mazzetti, “How a Single Spy Helped Turn Pakistan Against the United States,” New York Times, April 9, 2013.

  9 trying to prove ties Chris Arsenault, “Spy Game: The CIA, Pakistan and ‘Blood Money,’ ” Al Jazeera, March 17, 2011.

  10 Fortunately for Davis Mazzetti, “How a Single Spy.”

  11 Hillary, speaking in Egypt Hillary Clinton, interview by Steve Inskeep of National Public Radio, March 16, 2011, U.S. State Department.

  12 “The understanding is” Josh Rogin, “Who Paid the Blood Money to Set Raymond Davis Free?” Foreign Policy, March 16, 2011.

  13 a substantial shift in America’s approach Elise Labott and Tim Lister, “Courier Who Led U.S. to Osama bin Laden’s Hideout Identified,” CNN, May 3, 2011.

  14 two of the most powerful voices Bowden, “Hunt for ‘Geronimo.’ ”

  15 That Thursday NSC meeting Bowden, “Hunt for ‘Geronimo.’ ”

  16 skipped the gala Daniel Bates, “Obama Reveals Dramatic Moment When He Saw Photo of Bin Laden’s Corpse,” Daily Mail Online, May 2, 2013.

  17 “Those were thirty-eight” Erik Hayden, “Hillary Clinton Says Photo May Just Have Been Her Allergies,” National Journal, May 29, 2013.

  TWELVE: HILLARY’S POLITICS

  1 “You can count on Kathy” David Catanese, “Bill Clinton Robocalls for Kathy Hochul,” Politico, May 23, 2011.

  2 Hochul defeated Republican “Statement of Canvass,” May 24, 2011, New York State Board of Elections, http://bit.ly/R4Jqx9.

  3 Her approval rating was at 66 Lydia Saad, “Hillary Clinton Favorable Near Her All-Time High,” Gallup, March 30, 2011.

  4 The Obama campaign even polled Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, Double Down (New York: Penguin, 2013), p. 78.

  5 taking over as treasury secretary Ned Martel, “Geithner Once Proposed Hillary Rodham Clinton for Treasury Secretary,” Washington Post, June 14, 2012.

  6 a poll showing that 64 percent John McCormick, “Hillary Clinton Rise as Most Popular Politician Prompting Buyers’ Remorse,” Bloomberg News, September 16, 2011.

  7 Bill endorsed Representative Brad Sherman Jonah Lowenfeld, “Bill Clinton, State and Local Officials Endorse Sherman in Contested West Valley District,” Jewish Journal, August 5, 2011.

  8 two ideas about Romney Ryan Lizza, “Let’s Be Friends,” The New Yorker, September 10, 2013.

  9 “so close to paying” Ben Smith, “Clinton Still Working on Debt,” Politico, December 10, 2010.

  10 the two presidents came together Darren Samuelsohn, “Bill Clinton Upstages Obama Again at Green Buildings Event,” Politico Pro, December 2, 2011.

  11 “I never got to open” Bill Clinton, “We Can’t Wait,” remarks at Better Buildings Initiative, December 2, 2010, White House.

  12 to play a round of golf Lizza, “Let’s Be Friends.”

  13 “in doses” Halperin and Heilemann, Double Down, p. 61.

  14 continued to offer his opinions Jodi Kantor, “With a Book, the Last Democrat in the White House Tries to Help the Current One,” New York Times, November 4, 2011.

  15 “When Bill Clinton was president” Barack Obama, “We Can’t Wait,” remarks at Better Buildings Initiative, December 2, 2010, White House.

  16 “about the economy?” Darren Samuelsohn, “Bill Clinton Upstages Obama Again at Green Buildings Event,” Politico, December 2, 2011.
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  17 “I just want to, I’ll say again” Bill Clinton, “We Can’t Wait,” remarks at Better Buildings Initiative.

  THIRTEEN: THE HRC BRAND

  1 Hillary was just sitting down “We Came, We Saw, He Died,” Daily Mail Online, October 21, 2011.

  2 declined to say she regretted Hillary Clinton interview, Fox News Sunday, October 23, 2011.

  3 “captured or killed soon” Elise Labott, “Clinton Makes Unannounced Visit to Libya,” CNN, October 18, 2011.

  4 On the trip to Libya Richard Stengel, “Q&A: Hillary Clinton on Libya, China, the Middle East and Barack Obama,” Time, October 27, 2011.

  5 the most enduring image of Hillary in command Diana Walker, photo in “Hillary Clinton and the Rise of Smart Power,” Time, November 7, 2011.

  6 an “apology tour” “Mitt Romney ‘Apology Tour’ Ad Targets Obama After Final Presidential Debate,” Huffington Post, October 23, 2012.

  7 promote democratic movements Josh Rogin, “Romney Campaign: Obama Failing on Democracy and Human Rights,” Foreign Policy, July 27, 2013.

  8 Chen Guangcheng John B. Thompson, “Chen Guangcheng: Rebel of the Year 2012,” GQ, December 2012.

  9 rendezvous point Jane Perlez and Andrew Jacobs, “A Car Chase, Secret Talks and Second Thoughts,” New York Times, May 2, 2012.

  10 “I want to kiss you” Susan Glasser, “Out of the Embassy and into the Fire,” Foreign Policy, May 2, 2012.

  11 Hillary put out a statement Hillary Clinton, “Chen Guangcheng,” press statement, May 2, 2012, U.S. Department of State.

  12 harshly critical statement “Liu Weimin’s Remarks on Chen Guangcheng,” bit.ly/1iuhiqv, accessed November 9, 2013.

  13 Chen used his connections Seung Min Kim, “Chen Guangcheng Calls Into Congressional Hearing,” Politico, May 3, 2012.

  14 “apparent, according to these reports” Emily Friedman, “Romney: Will Be ‘Day of Shame’ for Obama If Chen Was Urged to Leave American Embassy,” ABC News, May 3, 2012.