If the Secretary of State gives a major foreign policy speech and no media outlets broadcast it, did she make a sound? Hillary Clinton gave a long-scheduled speech yesterday focusing on Iran and North Korea but the live coverage at that moment went to President Obama who was making an unscheduled speech on health care reform. Given Mr. Obama's many foreign trips during his young presidency and his appointment of special envoys for most of the major hotspots around the world, one has to wonder if Secretary Clinton is truly the nation's top diplomat and if she has any real power at all.

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I was a little surprised when Mrs. Clinton accepted this appointment and agreed to leave her powerful position as a Senator from New York. But I thought she might be planning for another presidential run and believed having Secretary of State on her resume would help her in that endeavor. Seeing how she has become little more than just another bureaucrat while the president and his envoys do the heavy lifting, it doesn't look like the strategy is paying off.

For the past few weeks the only real news coverage she's gotten has been about her broken elbow, her subsequent surgery and recovery. In fact that injury has been cited in some media outlets for her lack of visibility. But now that she's off the disabled list, why the continuing efforts to keep her out of the spotlight?

According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs there is no friction between the president and his former political rival, "They enjoy a very close relationship," Gibbs said. "The notion that there is some rift of disagreement is nothing more than silly Washington games." (source)

As Secretary Clinton gets pushed farther and farther away from actual power, Mr. Gibbs and his boss might be wise to remember that she is the queen of silly Washington games.