Earlier today, I posted Mme. Secretary’s press remarks with her Spanish counterpart Trinidad Jimenez. Her day in Spain included a meeting with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as well as with King Juan Carlos, who was sporting crutches due to recent knee surgery. We see a photo of her meeting at the embassy with Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy, and below are her remarks at her meet-and-greet with embassy staff and families.
These embassy events tend to be among her last events on a visit, so we hope she is on her way safely home. Last year she intentionally spent the Independence Day weekend abroad. She visited Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. This year we will be happy to have her home to celebrate the holiday with all of us!
Happy Fourth of July in advance, Mme. Secretary! Thank you for your dedicated service!
Remarks at a Meet and Greet With [Embassy] Staff and Families
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateMadrid, SpainJuly 2, 2011
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, thank you very, very much for this warm welcome. I am delighted to be back in Spain. I want to thank the ambassador and Susan and Stephanie for their warm welcome. I want to welcome the new DCM, Luis Moreno, who arrived just a few days ago, straight from serving in Baghdad. And I understand that Stella Blue is the embassy mascot. (Laughter.) She’s around here, somewhere.
But I wanted this chance to personally thank you for the work you do every single day on behalf of this very important relationship. Spain is our ally and Spain is our friend. And we collaborate closely on every aspect of our foreign policy, from countering terrorism to supporting new democracies, to driving economic growth through bilateral trade and investment. And on most difficult and complex issues of our time, Spain and the United States are working side by side, such as in Afghanistan, where Spanish troops have made great sacrifice, most recently with the loss of life and injury. And we are just incredibly grateful.
And I know, too, that there is a lot of American visitors who come to Spain. And I don’t know how many of them call you for help, but as I was walking around, just taking a little walk yesterday evening, I saw so many Americans. (Laughter.) So I assume that if I saw them on the streets, you see them at the embassy.
And I want to thank all of our U.S. Government team from the State Department and USAID, but from all the government agencies, from Defense and Commerce, and every other part of the U.S. Government. And I particularly want to thank our wonderful Spanish employees, because without you there would be no historical memory, and you do so much of what makes this embassy successful.
Now, I have to say that this mission is setting a high standard for embassies worldwide, because I heard about the Fourth of July celebration we had on Thursday, which was June 30th, but that’s all right. (Laughter.) And you have a salute to American business, co-hosted by the mayor of Madrid. And I know that there was a little Bruce Springsteen thrown in, and some other wonderful surprises. So thank you for the great outreach that you are doing, and for making economic, commercial, and cultural ties even stronger.
I also want to thank you for the volunteer work that you do, from pitching in at English language classes to stocking food banks to supplying entertainment and fun for the children of inmates at a women’s prison. It’s a quite broad spectrum of volunteerism. And by doing so, you really tell a big part of America’s story. It’s about our values, about who we are, as a people.
And thank you for protecting American citizens here in Spain, because you have so many students and so many tourists. And, of course, I learned from the ambassador today that we actually have more Spanish-speaking Americans than there are Spanish-speaking Spaniards. So you are going to keep drawing tens of thousands of Americans to this beautiful country.
And I want to say a special word of thanks to someone who has been here for decades: Angelina Sebastian, who has worked here for more than 40 years. It is quite a remarkable history of service. And she is just one of the many of you who have worked in this embassy for the American Government for a very long time.
Now, I know we ask a lot of you, because the work you do every day is important. But then along come CODELs, cabinet members, vice presidents, and I know that’s a lot of extra work. So I want you to know I am aware of that, and especially appreciative. I know you’ve already had the big Fourth of July party, but the ambassador owes you a wheels up party at some point. (Laughter.)
So let me, on behalf of everyone in Washington, and on behalf of President Obama and the Obama Administration, thank you for what you do week in and week out. Sometimes, because we have such a great relationship that is so connected by history and culture, family, and so much else, I worry that we might be maybe taking it for granted from time to time, because we don’t have problems. I didn’t need to come to Spain; we don’t have problems. I wanted to come to Spain. (Laughter.) I have been trying to get to Spain, because I want to make sure that we never take this important relationship for granted, that our Spanish friends know how deeply we admire and respect their own work over so many years, and now, with the tough decisions that had to be made, politically, in the economy. We have had to make hard decisions back home, so we fully understand that.
And I look forward to this relationship, thanks to all of you, just getting better and stronger in the years ahead. Thank you all very much.
she looks mad sexy here ;)…Wats wit all these men kissing her hand lol.
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Hand-kissing. It’s very Spanish … and sexy!
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Lots of kisses for your girl today. I can’t think of anywhere else where she’s gets so many.
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Seems she worked hard to get this visit in somehow. They really appreciate that she did that.
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I guess they do. She usually doesn’t get kissed, though. Personally, I like it.
It’s all very fairy tale-ish. All that’s missing is a ball gown and a handsome prince.
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She charmed the king! OK, the evergreen gown is missing, but the king appreciated her charms.
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I can think of a few gentlemen on this side of the Atlantic that probably wouldn’t mind adopting this custom.
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I would love a picture of that!
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http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.judiciaryreport.com/images/hillary-obama-6-27-08.jpg&imgrefurl=http://aishamusic.wordpress.com/category/hillary-rodham-clinton/&usg=__PaB7MKloJfHsjAmRRAG4sn8EkYo=&h=305&w=450&sz=26&hl=en&start=111&zoom=1&tbnid=URUtSeeqo885OM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=171&ei=yooQTsT0DYnz0gHj-PmEDg&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=796&vpy=245&dur=1741&hovh=185&hovw=273&tx=78&ty=207&page=6&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:21,s:111&biw=1117&bih=713
So many men, so little Hillary to go around.
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that’s supposed to be an image but I can’t figure how to upload it so it show’s up that way.
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Well, I don’t know what to do about the image, but when I saw your comment, in my mind it immediately connected to something I heard George Will say this morning on This Week with Christiane Amanpour.
The question was, “Who is your favorite Founder?” Will answered Madison. I found the quote.
I think the same could be said of Hillary. She’s tiny, but with a mighty mind. Also chuckled at his one-sentence closing paragraph since I had a cat named Dolley Madison. She died in May at 17.
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i know in her book she mentions that she and Bill adore the Spanish King and Queen and loved whenever they met
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That was too easy.
I love the picture of Secretary Clinton and the Vice President! I LOVE it. Her expression is great.
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Oh, I love this picture so much!
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I thought I remembered you saying that. There’s something about this picture that makes it so sweet, but I’m not sure what it is.
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She is like cotton candy, and his hands simply possess her. Her back is very pretty. I always say that. She has a pretty shape.
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Maybe it’s the thing about his hands. It could even be something as silly and cliché as him closing his eyes before giving her a quick peck.
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http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/06/30/tsr.wolf.clinton.hillary.cnn
I do not know whether the link will work – but her gentleman seems so proud of her:)
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Oh, thank you for finding that! I saw that last night and was so touched.
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What a proud squire! He always makes a point of saying something a little more personal the she does. He had to drop in that bit about falling in love with her. I’m not sure if that was for her so many miles away or for those who are fans of the couple.
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Both 🙂
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Or that. I like that option.
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He can be so sweet.
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most gorgeous photo of her lately
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I agree. Beautiful!
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(Bea, I hope you don’t mind. I moved your comment here because for some reason this ended up double-posted and your comment was on the unedited post that came up automatically somehow.)
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That’s fine, no problem. The issue may have been that I was away for the weekend and using someone else’s computer. I hope that you had a wonderful 4th.
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Another kiss for the subject of this blog. It another favorite photo of mine. Even the lighting is perfect.
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Wow, this is beautiful. I don’t think I have seen this before!
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It’s an old one. Possibly from her First Lady days. Look how young she was.
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I added it to my “hugs and kisses” collection. Thank you!
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I wish they’d contribute more to that collection. It’s cute.
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it is. its from a huge farewell president clinton/raise money for hillary’s senate run party in 2000. very cute
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i know this one doesn’t really count as a hug or kiss, but its really cute!
and this one is my absolute fav! only because its the only picture of them where their lips are actually touching
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I count the first one as a hug.
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Kiss countdown. 5… 4… 3… 2
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Not a hug, but a lovely picture.
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he looks like he liking the view a wee bit to much lol.
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Couldn’t resize this one. Gorgeous!
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She doesn’t look like she minds. 🙂
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true lol.
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