Morale Up at State

Laura Rozen's reporting that morale is up in Foggy Bottom, both because new policies are under review and because Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a charm initiative going:

The secretary is doing thank-yous to the people who worked on her recent trips, one senior State Department official told The Cable. “She invited the drafters and desk officers from [the South Asia] bureau, Holbrooke’s office and the European bureau up this morning to the Treaty Room to say thanks and shake everyone’s hand. Unprecedented. I understand she’s done this four or five times, including for her Mexico trip.”

She also came down to shake hands and thank people from the Near East Asia bureau after her Sharm el-Sheikh trip, Middle East hands noted.

"I do think the secretary has been a real good thing for morale in the building," another senior State Department official said. "She goes out of her way to show appreciation."

“Morale is pretty high,” a State Department Middle East hand said. “People will be even happier when we can start talking publicly about a lot of the policies still under review.”

It seems to me the administration is doing a fairly good job thus far of reminding rank-and-file employees their work is important. Let's hope that's a long-term investment, and not just a getting-to-know-you making of the rounds that won't continue.