President-Elect Barak Obama has nominated Hillary Clinton has his US Secretary of State. Therefore, Fora TV reminded its subscribers of a Hillary Clinton speech delivering to the US Council on Foreign Relations on the 31 October 2006. It was her reflections President George W Bush’s foreign policy disasters. In it she says....Third, our foreign policy must blend both idealism and realism in the service of American interests. If there's one idea that has been floated about over the last six years that I would like to see debunked, with all due respect to some of the political scientists in the room, it is this false choice between realism and idealism. Is it realist or idealist to stop nuclear proliferation? Is it realist or idealist to come together on global warming? Is it realist or idealist to help developing nations educate their children, fight diseases and grow their economies? And is it realist or idealist to believe we must turn around the ideology underpinning terrorism?
Hillary Clinton is right! In the quote, Clinton was responding to President George W Bush’s rejection of idealism in favour of realism. The Hawke and Keating Labor governments rejected realism in favour of pragmatism. Clinton made me think that we need policies that understand the current reality and has a pragmatic path to achieve the ideal.
It would have been better if Obama had nominated Hillary Clinton as the US Attorney General. She is very well qualified for that position. The thought of Attorney General Clinton would have the caused many in the Christian right to receive their eternal rewards much sooner. After doing such a good job she could pursue the Foreign Secretary’s position.
