Hooray for Hillary.

I managed to wade through a small part of a nostalgic documentary on Bill (slick Willy) Clinton last night and was talked to sleep with the distinct impression that Hillary was worthy of more praise. A feisty lass with cerebral talent to spare, she was his anchor and not the other way around. It is no wonder she swallowed her pride and took him back after the Monica Lewinsky disaster; she had plenty of practice at it.

When all is said and done, and the hindsight of history is committed to serious documentation, Hillary will be the one who garners the lion's share of credit and acclaim. This morning I awoke to the news that she, together with her Mexican counterpart, penned an agreement to explore and share about 1.5 million acres outside our continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a follow-up to an outline agreement that Obama and President Calderon signed last year. A major impact of this agreement is that it steals the fire from critics, especially those seeking the Republican presidential nomination, regarding Obama's failure to promote oil and gas exploration, to reduce America's dependency on foreign oil and to better manage rising petrol prices.

Praise of Hillary is a turnaround for me as I had been one of her critics. She appeared to be a do-nothing Secretary of State judging from the lack of media coverage on her comings and goings. Not a fair judgment I am sure, but nevertheless, I was critical of her. I also believe that it is a mistake to appoint a woman to lead diplomatic efforts when so many countries are male dominated and disdain any role for women other than that of homemaker and mother. This simply made Hillary's job more difficult. Although such prejudice may not have applied when she suggested to the Russians that we push the 'reset' button regarding our frigid relations, the proposition had no visible effect. I blamed Hillary, but hastily and certainly incorrectly. I was also critical when she agreed to have certain high profile diplomats such as our Ambassador to the UN, susan Rice, and our now deceased special Ambassador to Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, report directly to the President and not herself. While this bothered me, I saw nothing indicating that it bothered her.

I entertained concerns that she might run against Obama in the upcoming election, but these were small in contrast to others who were certain she would turn on the President. Hillary herself says no way. She repeated that statement when her name was mentioned to replace the current Head of the World Bank. On a more personal note, she looks tired. Her recent return to the media limelight does not flatter her appearance. Her clothes are often frumpy and no doubt hiding bulges due to weight gain. Her face is deeply lined and her hair is often disheveled and looks in need of a wash. One get's the impression she has given up on herself and her appearance. It is too early to draw any conclusions, but I suspect something is amiss. I hope for her and Bill's sake they are in good health.