Hillary’s Planning a ‘Greek Drama’ for Denver | Newsweek Voices - Jonathan Alter

‘Not an Isolated Incident’
Melinda Liu 6/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
On May 17 about 50 elderly parents gathered in a private home for a memorial service to mourn their children who'd died in the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy protestors. One notable absentee was 73-year-old Ding Zilin, founder of the Tiananmen Mothers organization, who'd been slated to deliver a memorial speech. Friends said authorities were severely restricting her movements until after the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square bloodshed. Recent phone calls to Ding went unanswered, but in late April, NEWSWEEK's Melinda Liu visited Ding in her Beijing apartment, where she still keeps a small shrine to her late son. Excerpts:
THE NEXT 100 DAYS
Here Comes Hillary
Michael Hirsh 4/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
Thanks to the global financial crisis, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has enjoyed something of a grace period over these first 100 days of the Obama administration. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has garnered most of the attention—and nearly all the criticism. That's about to end. Now that the fog of economic catastrophe seems to be lifting—if barely—the outlines of a fairly grim foreign-policy landscape are becoming visible. And it is very likely that Clinton and her boss will be more occupied with the challenges abroad in the next 100 days than with the recession and crisis at home.
Terror Watch
Blood in the Water
Mark Hosenball 4/15/2009 12:00:00 AM
While it has been almost universally praised stateside, President Obama's directive authorizing snipers to kill Somali pirates is getting criticized from one quarter: the international shipping and insurance industries, which fear the commando action will only spur pirates to greater violence and put merchant ships at greater risk.
DIPLOMACY
No, Really, You Shouldn’t Have
Katie Connolly 3/28/2009 12:00:00 AM
In the world of international diplomacy, small missteps can cause big problems. When George W. Bush gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a quick shoulder rub—in what he thought was a friendly gesture—he was mercilessly pilloried for weeks. Hillary Clinton's embrace of Suha Arafat dogged her for years. One of the most important tests of a globe-trotting president: picking out just the right gift for your foreign counterpart. Barack Obama is learning this the hard way.
POLITICS
A Gun Ban Gets Shot Down
Michael Isikoff 3/28/2009 12:00:00 AM
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now the second member of President Obama's cabinet to get shot down by the White House over the politically sensitive issue of assault weapons. After meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderón, Clinton said that reinstating the U.S. ban on assault weapons—which was passed in 1994 and expired in 2004—is one step this country could take to curb the flow of guns to Mexico's drug cartels. "These military-style weapons don't belong on anybody's street," Clinton told NBC. Within hours, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that he was unaware of "any plans" to push for such a ban—even though Obama had backed one during last year's campaign.
TELEVISION
Poehler’s Opposites
Joshua Alston 3/27/2009 12:00:00 AM
Of all the television characters to emerge in the era of Obama, none captures the zeitgeist quite like Leslie Knope. Leslie, the central character of the new NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation," believes deeply that the promise of America has been restored. She's always convinced that even when we think our nation has become its best self, there is still a cache of potential waiting for some industrious person to tap into it. As deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Ind., she works tirelessly to improve the lives of the citizens under her charge. Her primary mission is to get a cavernous dirt pit on an abandoned lot turned into a beautiful park, a simple sounding task that becomes a Sisyphean ordeal as she navigates a bureaucratic obstacle course. Still, Leslie tries to maintain her optimism even as those around her wallow in despondency. Says one such sorry character: "When I think about the logistics and the various hoops you'd have to jump through, I'd say, is it likely? No. But is it possible … no. It's not possible. You should give up." Leslie: "So … there's a chance."