The Clinton chronicles

A quick look at how our esteemed Secretary of State is representing the country over in Yurp. I don't think she exactly impressed the Greeks:

Hillary Clinton raised eyebrows on her first visit to Europe as secretary of state when she mispronounced her EU counterparts' names and claimed U.S. democracy was older than Europe's.

...A veteran politician, Clinton compared the complex European political environment to that of the two-party U.S. system, before adding "I have never understood multiparty democracy. It is hard enough with two parties to come to any resolution, and I say this very respectfully, because I feel the same way about our own democracy, which has been around a lot longer than European democracy."

The remark provoked much headshaking in the parliament of a bloc that likes to trace back its democratic tradition thousands of years to the days of classical Greece.

Meanwhile the Russians might be amused, but for the wrong reasons:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a red "reset button" to symbolise improved ties, but the gift drew smiles as the word "reset" was mistranslated into the Russian for "overcharge".

And Americans should be upset about this, with Hillary channeling Rahm Emanuel:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience Friday "never waste a good crisis," and highlighted the opportunity of rebuilding economies in a greener, less energy-intensive way.

...Clinton told young Europeans at the European Parliament that global economic turmoil provided a fresh opening. "Never waste a good crisis ... Don't waste it when it can have a very positive impact on climate change and energy security," she said.

Just imagine the outcry if Bush or Condi Rice had done any of this. Well, I suppose it could be worse -- she could be president.