The mesmerizing Hillary

She came, she charmed and she conquered. Well, not quite. Most were mesmerized but some are still searching for the evil inside the sophisticated exterior and the hidden agenda behind the warm messages of friendship and better understanding that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought with the people during her recent mission to Pakistan.
Her charm could simply not be denied even by her worst enemies. The level of intelligence and energy she exhibited seemed inexhaustible during the whirlwind three-day tour. She remained unruffled in all her discourses arranged at various venues in Islamabad and Lahore. These qualities are indeed god gifted but she has worked hard to carefully cultivate them over the last 20 years - first by helping her husband win the presidency twice over and sharing the lime light with him as the first lady. Later, as a senator and presidential hopeful in her own right and then running her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination under the constant grilling of the media and the public where her every move and word was watched and scrutinised, past and present were subjected to microscopic examination. She narrowly missed a shot at the presidency but shrewdly grabbed the next most powerful assignment in the US Cabinet.
Her scheduled 30 minutes interview by a panel of leading television anchors was skilfully utilised by her to evade a few awkward ones and extend detailed replies to rest of the questions that were predictable, easy to anticipate and for which she was quite well prepared. Furthermore, the students, civil society, women journalists and even the so-called elders fared marginally better, despite not being formally trained in questioning and communication skills. They were well represented and projected themselves as a bunch of moderate, enlightened and progressive nationalists fully aware of the complex environment and must have somewhat diluted the perception of all Pakistanis as extremists and American haters, in the eyes of her entourage. The well turned out and informed ladies in their foreign accents must also have left some impact that all women in Pakistan are not oppressed and maltreated. At the same time, she must have achieved at least a small degree of success in making inroads of realism in the minds of the people of Pakistan.