While I knew she did her job shilling Bush's Let's Pretend approach to foreign policy, I'd had the impression that she was unique among Bush's cabinet (after Powell's departure, anyway) in being qualified to hold the position she was appointed to.

You can be completely qualified and still self-aggrandizing and hard to work for.

The reaction of State Department employees as Hillary Clinton arrived this morning apparently bears comparison to the liberation of Paris at the end of World War II.

According to my FiL, this is not really the case.

[eta: Not that Condi was winning any World's Best Boss awards, but career diplomats are skeptical of HRC's willingness to work within the existing bureaucracy vs setting up her own special envoys with their own independent offices. Apparently this was something that was done during Bill's term often enough to be a concern.]

I started to cry in the car again when they said "President Obama."

I cry every single time I read or watch something about him, and all I'm doing is reading and watching things about him. I've wanted this since July of 2004. I can't believe it's finally happened.

I'm curious - how do the First Daughters get to school? Does the Secret Service take them? Is there a whole motorcade, or just one Chevy Suburban?

In the videos clips of their first day of school, it looked like a three-car motorcade, I think -- the girls and their mother in a van, with a car in front and behind. (This is just what I remember from the bits that I saw, though, and it could be different when it's not the first day.)

Yeah, I'm a little skeptical of anyone welcoming HRC with more than open arms there--not just open armed but on the ground crying the way they make it sound??...I mean, even if Condi wasn't the world's best boss, Hil as Savior takes a bit of mind twisting, I'm thinking.

Has Hilary always been like this, or is she channeling Obamna?

I suspect that among his skills we're going to find "bringing out the best in those around him".

All a reporter needs is one person to say X, Y, or Z. The reporter takes the quote and claims the whole organization feels the same way.

I don't know State to suggest how the employees feel about the changeover. But I can believe that Rice was highly unpopular, what with (1) Defense taking over so much of the lead on foreign policy, and (2) things like, "Go to Baghdad or you're fired!"

I hate to post questions when I'm at work and hence likely to get distracted, but what is up with Caroline Kennedy? What happened?

I hate to post questions when I'm at work and hence likely to get distracted, but what is up with Caroline Kennedy? What happened?

There are various rumors [link]

What happened?

So far, I've only heard speculation: [link]