Should President Obama have gone along for the ride? In the words of the inimitable (or not) Sarah Palin, you betcha! This blog has been following Hillary Clinton's nearly four-year charm offensive as Secretary of State right from the beginning. Obama is about to lose the gold standard in diplomacy dealing with presidents of young and fragile democracies. Should he be reelected, no matter who replaces Mme. Secretary, he or she will not bring the same appreciable set of personal skills to the job. This was a last gasp chance to capitalize on her prodigious work, and instead of (wisely) sticking around for a few days and reassuring these new partners, he skipped out of Dodge. He frittered away a great opportunity, a decision he may regret in the future. By the way, Mika Brzezinski,exactly how did you expect President Clinton to answer your question about the wisdom of this decision? Just curious.
