Hillary Clinton catches Obama speech in Brunei
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) — Half a world away from the Democratic National Convention, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delayed her departure from Brunei on Friday to watch President Barack Obama accept the party’s nomination for a second term.
After meeting Brunei’s foreign minister and launching a new U.S.-funded English language training project at the University of Brunei-Dar es Salaam, Clinton postponed her departure for Russia’s Far East to return to her hotel to watch a recording of Obama’s speech online.
A Clinton aide said she loved Obama’s speech and now plans to read the transcript.
Clinton was also able to watch large chunks of Vice President Joe Biden’s address, as well as Sen. John Kerry’s.
“She was especially moved by the VP’s words at the top about Dr. Jill Biden,” the aide said. “She wants the transcripts of both so she can read what she missed.”
On Thursday, Clinton remained in East Timor longer than expected to watch her husband, former President Bill Clinton, speak to the convention to formally nominate Obama.
“It was great,” she gushed to reporters on her plane afterwards.
Clinton, who lost a bitter race against Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2008 but as secretary of state is barred from partisan political activity, is missing her first Democratic convention since 1968.
On Friday, she was nearing the end of an 11-day, six-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific during which she has again shattered her own record for secretarial travel.
East Timor was the 109th and Brunei the 110th country Clinton has visited as America’s top diplomat, easily eclipsing the second-place holder, Madeleine Albright, who traveled to 98.
Since becoming secretary of state in 2009, Clinton has now been out of the country and in Asia for two major political events — this year’s conventions and the 2010 congressional midterm elections.
It remains unclear if she will be in the United States for November’s presidential election.
Clinton was flying Friday to Vladivostok, Russia, where she will stand in for Obama at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.