Clinton's Confirmation Hearing Goes Smoothly

All evidence up until now indicated that Sen. Hillary Clinton would zip through her hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and subsequently be confirmed by the full Senate as the next U.S. Secretary of State.

With the hearings yesterday, expectations of Clinton's smooth sailing proved well-founded.

As anticipated, the central questions around Clinton's nomination concern her husband's foundation, which has sought a number of foreign donors over the years. Committee ranking member Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana praised Clinton in his opening remarks, but subsequently voiced his concerns:

Ranking member Richard Lugar (Ind.) said he does not intend to hold up Clinton’s nomination, but he issued a stern warning that links to the Clinton foundation carry "risks."

"The core of problem is that foreign governments and entities may perceive the Clinton Foundation as a means to gain favor with the secretary of state," Lugar said. "[The] Clinton Foundation exists as a temptation for any foreign entity that, or government that, believes it could curry favor through a donation. It also sets up potential perception problems."

"The bottom line is that even well intentioned foreign donations carry risks for U.S. foreign policy," the Republican added. "The only certain way to eliminate this risk going forward is for the Clinton Foundation to forswear new foreign contributions when Senator Clinton becomes secretary of state."

The committee's Democratic chairman, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, concurred with Lugar with regard to the Clinton Foundation. Kerry also praised Clinton effusively, and even threw in a non-botched joke:

Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, who sorely wanted to be SoS, began the hearing with a rueful joke about his own, frustrated ambitions.

Referring to the fact that one Senator is now President-Elect and another is Vice-President-Elect, Kerry cautioned younger committee members not to get "too far ahead of themselves" as "myself, Chris Dodd, Dick Lugar and perhaps Senator Clinton can ...attest."

Kerry subsequently got down to business:

Praising Clinton as a diplomatic veteran on "first-name basis" with world leaders, he declared: "America is back."

On a more substantive note, Kerry surprised Clinton and Co. by saying he'd ask her to support her goal of reducing the country's nuclear arsenal to "no more than 1,000" weapons.

As expected, the toughest opposition came from embattled Louisiana archconservative David Vitter, up for reelection in 2010:

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., specifically called on Clinton to provide more reporting on contributions to the Clinton Global Initiative, which he said was not included in the Clinton Foundation's donation reporting.

Clinton balked, saying the foundation is going "beyond even what the rules would call for" in disclosing and preclearing donors.

"I recognize that these are unique circumstances, to say the least," Clinton said. "It is not unique, however, for spouses of government officials to work, and there are very well-established rules."

Yet even among non-Vitter conservative Republicans, her nomination seems well-received:

"She's a very competent and qualified candidate," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a member of the panel that questioned Clinton. "I've seen her work in the Senate. I've been on the same committees. She's proven herself to be a hard worker and a very competent individual."

The Clinton Foundation appears to be the only sticking point in her confirmation hearings, and it doesn't look anywhere near strong enough to stop her confirmation:

Senator Kerry concluded the hearing by suggesting the committee would still have to make a judgment as to whether the disclosure agreement was tough enough. She has also submitted written answers to many senators’ questions, and was asked to submit more by noon on Wednesday. Those answers have yet to be made public.

But otherwise, she faced no serious hurdles and she appeared headed for a smooth confirmation.

The committee's vote on her nomination is scheduled for tomorrow.