The political landscape never ceases to amaze me. Yesterday's lesson by former President Bill Clinton should have taught all political observers a hell of a lot about what its all about. Rather than be concerned about the current Administration's woes or his own personal stake in the game, once again, Clinton took the high road, made a clandestine (initially) trip into North Korea, played the role of peacemaker, even posed for pictures and dined with one of the most reviled dictators in the world.
Showing no joy in being there, Clinton held his nose in order to clean up a mess and retrieve two journalists who work for CurrentTV, the network started by his former Vice President, Al Gore. He didn't smile, he didn't make any public statement, he just went; and Laura Ling and Euna Lee went home on his plane.
On the surface it appears indeed that the Obama Administration may have been aware of the trip ahead of time, if not officially sanctioning it.
How could it be possible that the husband of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would go all the way to North Korea on such a high profile mission without the sitting President's approval? The reality is that it doesn't matter, because the sitting President didn't get in the way of this "humanitarian mission" by a former President.
The result is a win-win on the diplomatic front, and Clinton has proven, like other former Presidents, that he is a master of the game. He successfully got Lee and Ling on his plane, and headed for the border. The "money shot" of the two journalists meeting their loved ones on the tarmac is all you need to know.
