Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrates her 63rd birthday today.
State Department employees, fans, and a few journalists had a chance to sing
Happy Birthday to Madam
Secretary at last night's screening of Inside
the State Department, the new National Geographic
documentary about her life "inside the bubble."
Clinton graciously tolerated the crowd's rendition
of the Happy Birthday song and the National Geographic people even made her a
cake with the Department of of State's official seal on it (pictured above).
Clinton will spend the bulk of her special day in New York, giving a speech about
the role of women in politics at the U.N. Security Council, but we're told she
already took time to celebrate with her family last weekend while traveling in
California.
As for the documentary, it provides previously
unseen insights into the workings of the massive operation needed to support
Clinton on her overseas trips. Starting with Clinton's visit to last year's
U.N. General Assembly, the film also follows her to Pakistan and then around
the Middle East as she conducted some intensive shuttle diplomacy ahead of the
start of peace talks earlier this year.
"This is truly a tribute to the more than 60,000
people who work for the State Department around the world. Now, not all of them
could fit into the movie, but without their service standing behind all the
faces that you will see and the people that you'll meet, there are literally
hundreds and thousands more who do every day what is necessary to protect
America, to promote our values, advance our interests in every corner of the
globe," she said during her
introductory remarks.
The video
included several cameos by key staff, including senior advisors Philippe Reines, Jake Sullivan, Huma Abedin,
and others. The New York Times' Mark
Landler and the AP's Matt Lee were also featured in interviews.
Writer/director Steve Hoggard was surprised how accessible and down to earth
Clinton was when traveling. "One thing that would surprise me is when she would
come to the back of the plane without her makeup, without her hair done....
You can't help but like her," he said.
The movie will air Nov. 8 at 9 PM on the National
Geographic channel. Here's a preview clip:
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