mean, we weren t even using Blackberrys to any great

mean, we weren t even using Blackberrys to any great extent. We were just not using vag com 21st century communication tools. Some of it was because people weren t sure how they could be secure and all of that. But the fact is, we began to push our message out on Twitter feeds and Facebook and all kinds of outreach. And we also began to say to especially our young Foreign Service officers, You know what, get out there and talk. Because of 9/11, we began pulling inward. Our embassies were fortresses. We don t have the American Corners and lexia 3 centers that we used to have in the abundance that people could walk in and learn about America.
So we said we ve got to do this differently. Where do people go? So we put an American Center in the biggest mall in Jakarta. And at first people said, Oh, my gosh. What does that mean? Well, it means that we re going to take America s message to where people actually live and work.
You mentioned yourself being an American exceptionalist. Is the President an American exceptionalist in that same way? And how does that does it manifest itself differently, and how does it show abroad?
Well, I think that the President is an American exceptionalist almost by definition. He exemplifies American exceptionalism. But I think he also governs with that belief as well. He has a deep respect for other people s opinions and their own values of their culture and their history, which I think makes sense, because if you re going to work with people, you need to know where they re coming from and not just assume you can assert your own position. And I think that what captured people about his election was that they knew nowhere else in the world could that have happened than the United States of America.
(PHOTOS: Behind the Scenes with Hillary Clinton)
So you don t have to go around wearing a big sign, which says, I am an American exceptionalist. You just merely show up, and it is the medium is the message, so to speak. And I think I was struck by my early travels, where one of the most common questions I