Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is already offering her advice to the next president.
"The best part about not being Secretary of State is being able to answer questions," Albright said in front of nearly 600 people at the Free Library of Philadelphia yesterday afternoon.
Albright discussed her new book entitled, Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership and answered audience questions.
During her talk, she joked that her new book was "meant to be read on election night, but it's out now."
She explained that her book has two purposes. "The first," she continued, "is a 'how-to' guide for the next president."
The second purpose, Albright described, encompasses "the five large trends that the president will need to tackle." These include fighting terrorism without animosity, repairing the nuclear non-proliferation system, restoring the good name of democracy, supporting but not imposing democracy and managing globalization.
"Our foreign policy as of late resembles the game of billiards," she said. "We strike the ball and hope it goes into the hole, but along the way, it hits other balls and changes everything on the table."
She related examples in her book that had unintended consequences. She stated, to a mixed reaction, that Iraq was the "greatest disaster in American foreign policy" and that "we need to lay out a plan for coming out of Iraq."
Joshua Jones, a financial consultant and student in Philadelphia, expressed his concern: "I feel that [politicians] reserve a lot of things they should've said while in office - things that may have driven the country in another direction."
During the book signing, Albright said that college students are "crucial to the elections." While signing a copy of her book she stopped, looked up seriously and said, "You all can make all the difference . being active is fabulous!"
Free Library of Philadelphia employee Charles Hampton was impressed by Albright's presentation. He said, "I've seen half of Washington [D.C.] in here. She's a very good speaker."
"She had the elegance and grace of an elder statesman," commented Kenneth Manns, volunteer services program director for the Free Library of Philadelphia.
