Hughes in Charge

With little fanfare and only two senators even bothering to show up at her confirmation hearings, Bush political advisor Karen Hughes has been confirmed as U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs - the state department's top public relations job. One of the questions raised during the hearings (but avoided by Hughes) had to do with her possible role in the Valerie Plame affair. During the buildup to war in Iraq, Hughes was part of the White House Iraq Group, which coordinated strategy for selling the war to the American people. She now inherits the job previously held by Charlotte Beers, in which she is responsible for improving the way the U.S. is perceived in other countries, including the Muslim and Arab world.