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November 19, 2008

A worldly Albright

U.S. moral leadership critical, she says, adding Obama’s up to the task of issues home and abroad.

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told a crowd of about 900 Tuesday night that President-elect Barack Obama will have a lot of fences to mend, but she believes he’s up to the task.

Speaking at Wilkes University’s Outstanding Leaders Forum at the F.M. Kirby Center, Albright, who served as the nation’s first female secretary of state, discussed the challenges Obama and the country are facing. Albright spoke for about 25 minutes, then took several questions from an audience heavy on college students.

Answering a question about Iran and whether the new administration should open talks with the country President George W. Bush once dubbed a member of “the axis of evil,” Albright said, “In order to have peace we have to talk to our enemies. We just can’t talk to our friends.”

She said that Iran is a complicated country and there might be an opportunity to hold discussions without preconditions, something the Bush administration has been reluctant to do.

“I think it is worth at least probing to figure out whether there is a way to get them to not be so threatening to those around them,” said Albright, 71.

Albright, at numerous times, took shots at the Bush administration and praised the nation’s choice to elect Obama as the first black president.

“Every president inherits headaches. President Obama will inherit the whole emergency room,” she said.

Her talking points touched on Afghanistan, the Taliban, the economic crisis and America’s need to prove to the world it is still its moral leader.

“It will take time to reclaim our country’s reputation as a champion of human rights and international laws … It will take time, but the opportunity is there,” Albright said.

She said the country’s reputation took a beating the past eight years and more recently its economy has, too.

“In the past decade we have seen the damage that irrational exuberance can inflict and also unbridled fear. It’s time to get off the roller coaster and back to fundamental principles. Our global economy should reward inspiration and perspiration, not speculation and manipulation,” Albright said.

A few hours before her Kirby Center appearance, she held a meet-and-greet and press conference at the Westmoreland Club. While she mentioned the important role the secretary of state plays, she held back on endorsing a successor to Condoleezza Rice, who currently holds the position.

She did have kind words for the wife of the man who served as Albright’s boss in the White House, former President Bill Clinton.

“I personally believe Hillary Clinton would be a terrific secretary of state, but obviously President-elect Obama is the one who has to make that decision,” Albright said.

While she was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton’s bid for president, she became an adviser for the Obama campaign after Clinton lost her bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination.

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