Clinton brings new diplomacy style

BEIJING — She's talked about love. She's recycled advice. She's ripped into conservatives on the Supreme Court. And she's held chatty town-hall sessions.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is bringing a new style to the post of America's chief diplomat.

In her first overseas trip, a weeklong tour through Asia, Clinton rewrote the rule book, employing gravitas with foreign leaders but leading a freewheeling, campaignlike effort to mend what she says is a tattered U.S. image, prod people into saving energy and serve as empowerment coach for women around the globe.

Clinton wandered into crowds in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Indonesia's capital, visited a women's college in South Korea and invited women's-rights activists for a session in China.

On Sunday in Beijing, the last day of her four-nation trip, Clinton patiently responded to a question during a live webcast interview about what she and husband Bill do to save energy.

"We use compact fluorescent bulbs," she said, explaining how they save power. "We also recycle so that we are trying not to add to landfill waste more than absolutely necessary. ... We're constantly asking ourselves what more can we do."

Earlier in the day, Clinton attended a church service, then hosted two dozen women lawyers, domestic-abuse experts, entrepreneurs and activists, many of whom she had met on previous trips to China.

As one of the most widely known politicians in the United States, Clinton brings star power to her post. Her run for the Democratic presidential nomination last year served as a familiar touchstone during her interactions with the public.

So far, Clinton has hewed to the policies laid out by President Obama, offering no hint of the ill will that sometimes surfaced during their 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination.

"I'm very proud that President Obama has made a total U-turn away from the policies of the past eight years," Clinton said last week at in Seoul's Ewha University, an all-women's school founded by U.S. Methodists.

Clinton made clear that advancing women's rights would be a hallmark of her job. "I view this not only as a moral issue, but as a security issue," she said.

Pacing the stage before some 2,000 women students, Clinton seemed to thrive on simple questions about her family life, tossing out advice about appreciating loved ones.

"I feel more like an advice columnist than secretary of state today," she said.

In Japan, the first stop on her trip, Clinton had tea with an old acquaintance, Empress Michiko, who hardly ever meets diplomats.

Clinton also demonstrated a populist touch, appearing at ease and eagerly shaking hands at the end of each appearance, much like on the campaign trail.

She has gotten in a few digs at those she sees as stymieing her vision of a gender-equal society, making note Sunday of a U.S. Supreme Court decision she said did not uphold equal pay for equal work.

"Our Supreme Court right now is, you know, dominated by justices appointed by more conservative presidents," she said, in explaining a ruling she said held "such an illogical argument."

Hong Huang, chief executive of China Interactive Media Group, said Clinton moved her. "I think she's fantastic," Hong said. "It's good to know she's got women's interests at heart."