Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Hillary Clinton on Overcoming Differences by Commitment to Higher Loyalty

On her visit to Serbia, Hillary Rodham Clinton drew on her experience of learning to work with President Obama to urge unity in Bosnia.

She said that Bosnia could not move forward unless its Serbs, Muslims and Croats figured out a way to put country ahead of ethnicity.

That, she said, is what she and her former rival, and current boss, did.

“I tried to beat him,” Mrs. Clinton told a mixed group of students during the town hall meeting. “And he won. And then when he won, he asked me to work for him.”

“I’m often asked how could I go to work for President Obama after I tried to beat him,”

Mrs. Clinton added. “And the answer is simple. We both love our country. That has to be the mind-set here.”

Helene Cooper, Clinton, Citing Work with Obama, Urges Unity in Bosnia, New York Times, 12 October 2010.

Geoff Pound

Image: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with members of Bosnia's tri-government presidency in Sarajevo on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Amel Emric/Associated Press).