Jill, I actually liked Hillary Clinton's shorter haircut better, but I only caught the audio of the speech Wednesday, so I missed the new, longer hair look. What I did catch was how much of the speech was dedicated to acknowledging that it was the president who set the foreign policy agenda and outlining the specific roles Clinton would be taking on.

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Particularly worth highlighting were her thoughts on women's rights:

"Our development agenda will also focus on women as drivers of economic growth and social stability. Women have long comprised the majority of the world's unhealthy, unschooled and underfed. They are also the bulk of the world's poor."

Hillary Clinton's personal style has always been a bit of a lightning rod -- and I'm not speaking just about her hair here. Remember the great national debate unleashed over her wearing a slight v-neck on the Senate floor?

Speaking of politically incorrect statements about style: The Thursday New York Times reports that her aides have said Clinton is "amused, but baffled" by Tina Brown commenting in the Daily Beast, "It's time for Barack Obama to let Hillary Clinton take off her burqa."

When I read that, I thought of another secretary of state with a large political following -- Colin Powell. It's almost impossible to imagine a columnist making a similar comment about him. Still, it was often said that within the Bush administration, Powell had been effectively silenced. I don't think anyone wants to see the opposite: a secretary of state gone rogue. I know I certainly don't. But, what this speech seemed to suggest -- a president who is in charge of setting foreign policy and a secretary of state with a voice at the table and a specific role -- sounds good to me.

Of course -- in the interest of full disclosure and since I did comment on Clinton's new cut -- it's only fair to let you all know that my hair today is just yesterday's curls caught up in a distinctly lazy ponytail. Make of that what you will.


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