After the earlier committee vote, Kerry said he hoped the support he received from all the panel’s Democrats and Republicans was a harbinger of much-needed bipartisanship on the issues America faces abroad. “There is so much on the plate that all of us need to find a way to work together,” Kerry said. “I hope this is a symbol that all of us are ready to do that.”
At his confirmation hearing last week, Kerry spoke of Syria’s civil war and climate change as two issues he plans to give immediate attention. Since that hearing, events in Egypt have no doubt moved that key Middle Eastern country up on the to-do list.
And then there are the prospects for imminent international negotiations with Iran over its advancing nuclear program.
But Kerry also suggested that he is largely in sync with Mr. Obama’s foreign-policy pragmatism.
When his friend Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona called for more robust US intervention in Syria than what has occurred in Obama’s first term, Kerry countered with a list of factors that he said argue for a cautious approach.
At one of her last events as secretary of state Tuesday morning, Clinton said in a video question-and-answer session with young people from around the world that she saw an opening for Kerry to press for progress in the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Clinton referred to the results of Israel’s elections last week, which revealed an increase in support for centrist parties.
