Margaret Tutwiler
From Public Diplomacy
Margaret Tutwiler served as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the Department of State from December 16, 2003 to June, 30 2004. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 9, 2003 to replace outgoing Under Secretary Charlotte Beers. Tutwiler was given the task of leading "the government's public-relations drive to build a favorable impression abroad."
"Winning Hearts and Minds"
Tutwiler, who announced her resignation from the post in April 2004 at the end of the bloodiest month in Iraq, was well-regarded in her five-month stretch as the high-profile replacement for Charlotte Beers. Tutwiler had an inside-the-beltway career working for four Republican administrations as a State Department spokesman and then as an ambassador to Morocco. Tutwiler was expected to outmaneuver Beers in sheer political experience alone, and hopes were high that she would announce some major initiatives, despite 2004 being a presidential election year. At the time of Tutwiler’s confirmation hearings, it seemed that her Washington political experience would serve her well in helping to tackle the downward slide of America’s reputation in the world. But she deflected such insider experience when on October 29, 2003, she told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee overseeing her confirmation that when it comes to the complex reality of winning hearts and minds: 'There is not one magic bullet, magic program or magic solution. As much as we would like to think Washington knows best, we have to be honest and admit we do not necessarily always have all the answers.�?
[edit] Commentary
- Nancy Snow, "U.S. Public Diplomacy: A Tale of Two Who Jumped the Ship at State," Foreign Policy in Focus, May 27, 2004.
- "Bush names former ambassador to public diplomacy post," San Francisco Chronicle, October 15, 2003.
- Jim Rissman, "Good Luck, Margaret Tutwiler," Common Dreams, January 5, 2004.
- Christopher Marquis, "Promoter of US Image Quits for Wall St. Job," New York Times, April 30, 2004.
Resources Used:
- A Big Thanks to SourceWatch.org
- State Department Profile
- CommonDreams.org
- Nancy Snow Paper
