Thank you, Karen Hughes....

Thank you, Karen Hughes, for your service, your loyalty, and your friendship to President George W. Bush.

I was sad to hear the announcement that Karen Hughes was resigning from the state department at the end of the year to rejoin her family in Texas. According to the White House:

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Hughes told Bush - her ''very, very close friend'' - as far back as the summer that she would need to be back home in Texas by the end of the year. The president was sad to hear the news, but understood, Perino said.

Ms. Hughes' job was to improve the image of the U.S. to the world and, while the Left has bashed her, they have done nothing to help as they continue to belittle the President, bash the war, and bash our own country.

According to News Max:

Heading the broad category of U.S. outreach known as public diplomacy, Hughes sent Arabic speakers to do four times as many interviews with Arabic media as in previous years and set up three rapid public relations response centers overseas to monitor and respond to the news. She nearly doubled the public diplomacy budget, to nearly $900 million annually, and sent U.S. sports stars Michelle Kwan and Cal Ripken Jr. abroad as unofficial diplomats.

Polls show no improvement in the world's view of the U.S. since Hughes took over. A Pew Research Center survey earlier said the unpopular Iraq war is a persistent drag on the U.S. image and has helped push favorable opinion of the United States in Muslim Indonesia, for instance, from 75 percent in 2000 to 30 percent last year.

Two years is not going to make a significant change in the world's view of the U.S. especially in the partisan political world we live in today.


In my opinion, Karen Hughes is one of the smartest women around. She and George W. Bush worked together in Texas, forming a team along with Karl Rove that resulted in the election of George W. elected as governor. Karen brought my sister on-board who was hired as the Govenor's speech writer in 1995, and together they worked for a man they admired and who was humble and appreciative of their input. Karen served as counselor to President George W. Bush and communications director to Governor George W. Bush of Texas.

While the Left loves to bash Karen, she remains unflappable as she stays on message and works tirelessly in whatever job is put before her. Her book, "Ten Minutes From Normal," tells about her struggle to balance job and family, something my sister dealt with as well, which is why Ms. Hughes now leaves the pressure cooker of Washington, D.C., to rejoin her family in Texas.

Karen Hughes. I admire the lady and thank her for her loyalty to the President and her service to the United States. Thanks, Karen. Enjoy your well-earned time with family.