Well, given all the Hillary-David talk that has droned on over the past year, and particularly since the December Vogue, article, I cannot resist posting some snips from P.J. Crowley's Press briefing today. You see, as quickly, and visibly as Brown stepped down and Cameron took his place, David Miliband did the same with much less fanfare. Soooo, um, he is no longer a player (as it were). 
Now that is not the ONLY information Crowley addressed, and I think the context is interesting. He mentions a farewell call to the outgoing Hungarian FM as well as a greeting to the new UK FM Hague. No mention of a farewell call to David, though. Hmmmmm. Here is the beginning of Crowley's statement today reviewing the SOS's activities past and present and future.
...the President announced that the Secretary will lead the U.S. delegation to the Kabul Conference in July. I’m happy to take further questions on that, if you wish.A few things to – a few calls and such to read out. The Secretary this morning had a five-minute conversation with the new foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, William Hague, where she conveyed our congratulations, echoed the President’s message to Prime Minister Cameron. And in fact, Foreign Secretary Hague will come here to the State Department on Friday for their first meeting.
The Secretary this morning also had a farewell call with Hungarian Foreign Minister Bajnai. Hungary is in the midst of its own transition to a new government, and they reflected on the productive working relationship that they’ve had to strengthen transatlantic relations. The Secretary, in particular, repeated her gratitude for Hungary’s support in helping with the resettlement of detainees from Guantanamo.
Last evening, the Secretary had a lengthy call with Chinese State Councilor Dai. It’s about, I think, their second call this month. The call was just over one hour. They talked about the status of discussions on Iran sanctions. They acknowledged that good progress has been made, talked about a couple of technical issues in the drafting of the resolution – or the drafting of the draft resolution, and pledged that both sides would continue to work hard within the P-5+1 to resolve remaining questions. And in fact, there was a P-5+1 meeting in New York this morning as well.
They also talked about North Korea. Chairman – or State Councilor Dai gave the Secretary a little more insight into the recent visit to Beijing by Kim Jong-il following up on readouts that we had received while Kurt Campbell and Sung Kim were in Beijing and also readouts that we received earlier to the Embassy there.
All pretty much business-as-usual, right? Well, what comes later is interesting. Hmmmm "shadow foreign minister." We do not know whether they have met! He seems pretty hot-to-trot, though. He will be here Friday!
QUESTION: On the – can we assume, or the fact that she only spoke to Hague for five minutes and she spoke to Dai for an hour that China is more important than Britain now in American foreign policy?
MR. CROWLEY: (Laughter.)
QUESTION: That was a joke. What did she exactly tell Hague? Just – was it – obviously, it was just very brief and she just said, “See you on Friday”?
MR. CROWLEY: Yeah, it was very brief – congratulations, look forward to working together. The foreign secretary gave her a little kind of perspective on the negotiations that led to the coalition government that was formed in Britain. And beyond that, they pledged – he offered to come on Friday and she accepted right on the spot and said we look forward to having you here.
QUESTION: Did they discuss Afghanistan?MR. CROWLEY: No. It was simply – it was literally a congratulatory call. And as you know, the Secretary is fascinated by politics, so for about a minute they talked a little bit about the dynamic that led to the coalition. But it was simply, “We’ll see you on Friday.”
QUESTION: Had she met him before?
MR. CROWLEY: I mean, he is a familiar figure, so I don’t know whether – I wouldn't rule it out. I don’t --
QUESTION: You wouldn't rule it out. He’s been here to the State Department as a shadow foreign minister*, but I don’t know if he met the Secretary.
MR. CROWLEY: Yeah, I don’t know.
QUESTION: And he offered to come here, right?MR. CROWLEY: He indicated he was willing to come, and she said, “We look forward to having you here.”
*Yikes! Evidently there IS such a position!
So I guess we know a little about what her Friday schedule will look like. Personally, I look forward to watching her forge this new chapter of our special relationship with the UK. I love watching Secretary Clinton in action! Although, since he essentially invited himself, I think he is perhaps already smitten. Who could possibly blame him?
