I forgot to confess that I found the item on Drudge. It's sometimes good for something.

.

Hmmm...

Poor ol' Dick showing such great worry about Hillary, and speculating on an educated guess that she's odd woman out... Eh?

Well, in light of the fact that whether or not the eastern seaboard folks care to realize it, the Pacific Rim is the major area of true American international interest on trade and US economic well being, in addition to the pressing problem of nuclear proliferation. And that is where Obama has Hillary heading this coming week. She has her hands full on a variety of issues with China alone.

From an opinion piece in the Sunday LA Times by Nina Hachigian, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. She also served as the director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy for four years.

The great challenge for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton when she visits Beijing next week is to influence China to play a larger role in preventing global catastrophes in these areas: the economy, nuclear proliferation, climate change and pandemic disease.

China deserves high marks for acting quickly on the global economic crisis. Beijing turned on a dime from trying to cool down its economy last summer to enacting potentially potent stimulus measures over the last months. Some measures, such as a plan to invest $123 billion in universal health insurance over the next three years, could lay the foundation for a social safety net that will help establish a broad Chinese middle class, which would support the growth of the American middle class by fostering a robust market for U.S. exports. Moreover, working with the International Monetary Fund, Beijing is helping to bail out Pakistan, whose economic stability the United States is concerned about, to put it mildly.

The politically challenging issues of currency, intellectual property protection and the potential "Buy American" provisions of the U.S. economic stimulus package remain and could get worse, but they have proved manageable through regular consultation with Congress and steady dialogue with Beijing.

On efforts to prevent potential nuclear catastrophes, China's record is mixed. Beijing is playing an invaluable leadership role in hosting the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program and has been instrumental in breaking specific logjams. But Beijing still cares much more about stability on the Korean peninsula than it does about North Korea's nukes (which are not aimed at China, after all). Whether and under what conditions Pyongyang would give up its weapons, and how much arm-twisting China would be willing to do, are unclear. Clinton is sure to make a strong pitch for more Chinese pressure, but here Beijing and Washington have at least agreed on a path forward.

In contrast, on nuclear catastrophe scenario No. 2 -- Iran's program -- China and the U.S. sharply diverge. China has repeatedly blocked U.S. efforts in the U.N. Security Council to impose tough sanctions on Tehran. Beijing does not want to see a Middle East made even more dangerous by complicated nuclear dynamics, but China's immediate and pressing lust for energy supplies will leave its anti-proliferation policies compromised at best. Prospects for Clinton to make headway on this issue seem dim.

Continues here: A to-do list for Clinton's China trip

I think the President has delegated duties to individuals who he feels will best be suited to their areas of expertise. And apparently Obama sees the Secretary of State as best suited at this moment in time to handle a large amount of pressing issues in the Pacific Rim area.

And I'd venture to say that Dick the "Village Gossip mongerer" doesn't really know squat!

~OGD~

.

Uh... Hello . . .

Excuse me... Did you know you have some turnip leaves stuck on your shoulder?

~OGD~

If I really thought Morris had a clue I might pay more attention.