Opinion: Hillary Clinton, now the diplomat, dodges talk of Sarah Palin, still the politician

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We don’t hear much from/about Hillary Clinton these days, which may be the political point of her assignment as secretary of State to represent U.S. (Obama) interests abroad, meaning she’s often not around the Obama White House.

Clinton was dispatched to the U.S.-Islamic World Conference meeting in Qatar over the weekend. Though her boss, the victor in the bitter Democratic Party primaries of 2008, was the one who made the news in Qatar, announcing on a holiday weekend in Washington the appointment of a special envoy to the Muslim world, as The Ticket reported here.

Whatever.

Clinton continued her trip to Saudi Arab, where today she could not escape American politics even during a town hall meeting with students of Dar Al Hekma College.

A student asked the former first lady, former presidential candidate if she would move to Canada should conservative darling Sarah Palin win the White House in 2012.

That was an apparent reference to Alec Baldwin’s firm pledge to move to the States’ northern neighbor -- or neighbour -- if Republican George W. Bush won election. Which he did -- twice. And which Baldwin has yet to do -- once.

Anyway, Clinton and the audience laughed. And ever the diplomat -- now -- the once oft-outspoken Clinton touched all the proper bases by saying, ‘Well, the short answer is no. I will not be emigrating. I will be visiting as often as I can.’

-- Andrew Malcolm

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