The American
for her to get the nomination. When Obama nominated her to be the Secretary of State it became the making of yet another new Hillary. No longer the Senator, she became a strong team player, a valuable ally in fighting the internal wars and policy disputes, and became a cheer leader for the State Department staff. She even made peace between the State Department and the Department of Defense and made an ally of Bob Gates, the Defense Secretary. Hillary’s remake as roving ambassador for America, clocking up nearly a million air miles during her time in office, made international respect for her and for her office rise among her peer group. She found the job daunting but also personally rewarding, and while frustrating much of the time, had its moments. Certainly the transition to a person with charm and humor, while being a ‘hawk’ on foreign policy itself, won her friends around America’s allies if not its enemies. Robin Renwick’s tour of hotspots, Russia, Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Libya, Israel/Palestine, Africa and the rest, following Hillary’s travels, is instructive in itself, and benefit greatly from his long service in the Foreign Office and observation of foreign alignments and entanglements alike.
Look who’s just walked in...
His final two chapters deal with the questions raised at the outset. Britain is certainly ready to see the Anglophile that is Hillary in charge. Is the world ready for Hillary? The answer he argues is ‘Yes’. Is the USA? Yes, but by default. He believes that the Republicans should have the presidency by a landslide, but this coming presidential election will likely prove closer than it looks at the moment, even with the Republicans in disarray and the Democrats with a yet-to-be-
PHOTO: PETE SOUZA, WHITE HOUSE
announced front runner in Hillary. There is no-one in sight who can beat her both to the nomination and to the phone call from the Prime Minister offering his congratulations to the newly elected President of the United States. Ready for Hillary? is published by Biteback Publishing Ltd., 256 pps, ISBN: 9781849547888, £17.95. ebook: ISBN: 9781849548342, £8.39
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