Hillary Watch 2016: The Website

By Richard K. Barry

I do realize it will get mighty tiresome as we read every twitch to determine what Hillary Clinton will or won't do in 2016. In a bit of news that probably means absolutely nothing, she has a new website at HillaryClintonOffice.com. It has a picture of the former secretary of state and a form for contacting her. 

Much as I think she will run, one thing I do know for sure is that she ain't goin' away. 

Campaigns are like buying hay for a dead horse

By Distributorcap

And they're off....

Unemployment remains high, Libya is in flames, gas prices are heading above $4 per gallon, food prices are rising fast, foreclosures remain at record levels, the housing market remains in the toilet, our education system is collapsing, unions are being kicked to the sideline, Boner thinks defending DOMA is more important than jobs, budgets for everything are slashed as the rich continue to get tax breaks, guns remain easy to get, homelessness is rising, we are addicted to foreign oil more than ever, climate change is destroying agriculture patterns, ice blocks continue to break off, dead fish wash up on shore, North Korea threatens the West with impunity, the middle class moves toward extinction, the Supreme Court allows the rich to buy elections, a Supreme Court justice overtly snubs all ethics, a governor tells transplant hopefuls to get their affairs in order, lunatics in the teabag party are overtly dominating the media...

but what is important to many cable talking heads? ... The Presidential horse race is on!

Be prepared to hear (if you can stomach watching most of the cable news shows) endless talk about who is in, who is hot, who will run, what today's poll says (which will we be different tomorrow, of course), who has a 1-point lead (which of course means they will absolutely, positively win, until the next poll). Also watch the same vomitoria give credence to morons assholes quitters douchebags people like Sarah "Blood Libel" Palin and airtime to idiots fascists nincompoops media whores people like Michele Bachmann -- not because they add to the intelligence quota or bring anything of value to American society, only because they are good teevee.

Currently, there are 611 days until the next presidential election on November 6, 2012. Rest assured there will be more time spent on every bit of minutia about the teabag GOP kochotrons vying for the nomination than on any of the above problems. I guess it is a lot of fun handicapping the 6th race at Teabag Downs, but it isn't much of a barrel of monkeys finding solutions to climate change or our economic malaise.

When you live in a society where Charlie Sheen and Justin Bieber are more important than the firing of teachers or the continued dependence on energy imported from tyrannical regimes ("but they are our tyrants"), I guess you can expect one day we will have a country run by Rufus T. Firefly with his benefactor Mrs. Teasekoch. But hey, the cable pundits are having fun! Maybe as one infamous New York City weatherman and one infamous Indiana University basketball coach each once said about a certain act of agression, "if it is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it."

The tweet heard 'round Tehran: A new channel of public diplomacy?

Guest post by Jessie Daniels

Jessie Daniels recently received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Prior to that, she worked as a national security staffer in the U.S. Senate. She is a Truman National Security Project fellow.

[This is Jessie's second post at The Reaction. Her first, on Obama's Af/Pak strategy, can be found here. -- MJWS]

As we watch with interest the events unfolding in Iran, one of the major stories dominating the headlines is the Twitter effect. Twitter, and other new media, have given a global voice to the angst over the elections and have made the intensity of those marching in Tehran palpable to those sitting on the couch watching halfway around the world. Most importantly, the social networking phenomenon has undermined the Iranian regime's attempts to isolate its country from the rest of the world and has, perhaps, opened a new chapter of informal public diplomacy efforts.

Despite the regime's efforts to prevent the outside world from witnessing the post-election ramifications, new media sites continue to provide the most up-to-date information on the events in Iran. Moreover, these sites have become forums not only for reporting but also for advocacy. For example, tweeters on Twitter have been urged to turn their avatars green in solidarity with the Iranian protesters.

The increased attention has also highlighted the complications faced by the regime as it tries to effectively counter the public reaction to the election results. The regime's dismissive rhetoric, which often plays well when denouncing the West, has instead stoked the flames of internal dissent. After Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad compared the protests to the "passions after a soccer match," members of the Iranian national soccer team wore green armbands during a World Cup qualifier in protest. Efforts to blame the United States and Israel for improper meddling seem to fall on deaf ears as the protests continue to resonate.

Events in Iran have sparked a debate here at home about what the U.S. should be doing in response. Some assert that the administration should openly and actively encourage the protesters in Iran while others believe that we should stay out of the process. Regardless of where one falls on this spectrum, though, these events already illustrate the power of a new public diplomacy channel present in new media venues.

As opposed to formal public diplomacy measures, such as educational and cultural exchanges, social networking sites like Twitter provide a way to informally connect people. These small-scale efforts could have long-ranging benefits. Right now, the American public is getting a glimpse of the Iranian public and gaining an understanding of what drives them, what they are fighting for, and how they are expressing their dissent. The Iranian protesters are also aware that they have a global audience, including those watching in the United States. Although the Iranian and American publics have been kept apart for three decades, new media may be helping to debunk stereotypes in each country that have been built up since the 1979 revolution.

In this paradigm, government works best when it works to ensure that free and open dialogue continues. Doing so can help to pave the way toward increased support for further engagement at higher levels. There will likely be opportunities for the administration to capitalize on this situation as it pushes forth with direct engagement. Already, however, social networking has gone far beyond allowing high school buddies to keep in touch. With a significant percentage of the population in Iran younger than 30, this method of connecting the Iranian and American publics could eventually lead to a level of engagement and understanding that is beyond the realm of formal public diplomacy.