Albright Visits Helms Country (3/26/97)

Albright's Confirmation Hearings Begin (1/8/97)

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Analysis: Albright Earns Political Play Of The Week

Secretary of state is skilled at diplomacy and politics

By Bill Schneider/CNN

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 28) -- A secretary of state is not supposed to be political, right? Wrong. And nobody understands that better than President Bill Clinton's new secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.

Jesse and Madeleine, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the Chemical Weapons Convention, banning the production and use of poison gas weapons.

Just last week, Chairman Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not sound too enthusiastic about that treaty. In floor debate, Helms said, "This treaty will do nothing -- will do nothing -- to reduce the dangers of poison gas."

On Wednesday, however, the senator was singing a different tune. "It maybe has some good points that are sort of hard for me to find, but I'm willing to look for them, particularly with the secretary," he said.

What happened?

For one thing, Helms spent some time going over his objections with the ranking Democrat on his committee, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.). Helms said, "Joe Biden and I consulted in my office Wednesday night past, for about four and a half hours and we covered 21 differences and resolved them."

Then Albright showed up in North Carolina on Tuesday, where she took a tour of the state. Her host? Jesse Helms.

"I would like to say how very pleased I am to be able to spend this day in North Carolina," Albright said on her arrival. "I would like to thank the chairman for inviting me."

The secretary seems to have made a good impression on her host, who returned her praise. "All day long in Charlotte, and now here, people have come up and whispered in my ear, 'She's just as great as you said that she was,'" Helms said.

This has got to be the oddest couple since Michael Jackson and Lisa-Marie. But hopefully, this one will last longer.

What does she see in him? That's simple -- power. He chairs the congressional committee that oversees treaties, appointments and her budget.

What does he see in her? That's more complicated. As a refugee from fascism and communism, Albright is an unabashed American patriot, just like Helms. And she can be a tough guy, just like Helms.

She started courting the senator last year, when she was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, just in case his support might come in handy one day. It did.

At her confirmation hearing last January, Helms said, "Madam Ambassador, it's been a joy to work with you while you were at the United Nations."

Albright sees politics as part of her job. While in North Carolina she said she wants "to talk foreign policy in the plainest possible language with the American people, so that each and every one can understand the stake he or she has in our American foreign policy process."

Getting the chemical weapons treaty ratified by the Senate is a top priority for the Clinton White House, and the first test of the new secretary's political skills.

Her relationship with Helms does not mean they agree. It means they respect each other. During Albright's hearing, Helms said it was all right for the two of them to disagree. "I know you are sincere, but I believe you are sincerely wrong," he said. "And you feel the same way about my positions. So that makes us even."

Helms still does not support the treaty, but on Tuesday, he made a major concession. He said, "If both sides will sit down and be realistic about it, there's a very good chance that there could be a treaty."

How about that! That's a political Play of the Week if there ever was one. This is one secretary of state who's as skilled at the political arts as she is at the arts of diplomacy.

But there's one more skill the secretary of state has to work on: pitching.

On Tuesday, Albright will throw out the first ball on opening day of the baseball season when the Baltimore Orioles meet the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards.

Come to think of it, her diplomatic skills might come in handy. The Middle East is simple compared to relations between baseball owners and players.