Former President Bill Clinton secured the pardon today of two American journalists from a 12-year North Korean prison sentence. His "private mission" was a smart move, say bloggers, who are falling all over themselves to praise Bubba's diplomatic chops. But if Bill Clinton is the man for the job, where does that leave a certain Secretary of State?

Obama sent The Closer because Hillary failed, said The Cajun Boy at Gawker. And why not? According to The Cajun Boy, "the United States of America probably has no better bullet in its diplomatic gun than Bill Clinton for handling situations like such as these, so sending him in seems to make all kinds of sense." The Cajun Boy predicted Bill would "steal the spotlight from his long-suffering Number Twos, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, but hey, whatever it takes, right?"

Hillary's diplomacy had proved useless in North Korea so far, said Anna N. at Jezebel:

The North Korean Foreign Ministry in turn called her a "funny lady" who "is by no means intelligent." Bill Clinton, on the other hand, maybe popular in North Korea because US-North Korean relations were at their best during his administration.

This will make for an interesting conversation between spouses, said Simon Tisdall of The Guardian:

Now, possibly to her surprise, a very large, unsolicited political incentive has turned up in Pyongyang in the shape of the ever club-able Bubba, her very own husband, Bill. This coincidence may make for an interesting conversation when he gets home.

This says nothing about Hillary, Adam Serwer wrote at The American Prospect. Suggesting it does "becomes a way for people who actually don't think she can do the job to imply exactly that by projecting those thoughts onto the administration."

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