Maybe a man can be Secy of State after all.
I've always hated John Kerry, and I'm still glad he didn't become Pres. But he's doing remarkably good work as Secy of State. After insulting Turkey at first, he went back and gave them the respect they deserve, and even pried an apology out of Israel for the first time in 5000 years of recorded history! Now he's pushed China into stating openly that China and US have common interests in controlling Kim 3:
Kerry, on his first trip to China as secretary of State, described what he called an “unprecedented joint statement” calling for North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, although it appears to have been a verbal statement and not a formal communiqué.
Probably not a real change in China's attitude; they've been growing impatient with Kim 3 anyway. Still, the "joint appearance" is an important change in symbolism. This is how allies behave.
It helps to have a President with a less neocon mindset than the previous four... (i.e. less Exceptionalism and Moral Imperialism, less obedience to Israel, more attention to real national interest.) And it helps even more when the Secy of State shares the non-neocon mindset. Hillary is solid neocon, and she
wasn't getting things done.