Transition at the State Department: A Tour and Dinner

Jay Solomon reports on the transition at the State Department. The incoming and outgoing secretaries of state are having dinner tonight, following a day in which Condoleezza Rice gave Hillary Clinton a tour of her new digs at Foggy Bottom. The two are scheduled to dine later tonight at Rice’s apartment in Washington’s storied Watergate complex. Rice has become an outspoken supporter of Clinton’s nomination as Washington’s chief diplomat. Rice took to the Sunday talk shows this weekend and proclaimed: “Hillary Clinton is somebody of intelligence, and she’ll do a great job.” Washington insiders have buzzing about how Clinton will structure the State Department and coordinate with President-elect Barack Obama after she clashed regularly with him during the campaign on foreign policy. Obama has insisted that he’ll set the tone for U.S. foreign policy once in the White House. And he’s placed a respected retired general, Jim Jones , as the head of the National Security ... (link)