Swag Award of the Week August 3-9

I know it's only Wednesday, but I don't think anyone can take the award from Bill Clinton this week. In a 20 hour trip, Clinton flew to North Korea, met with Kim Jong Il and accomplished a feat the U.S. government had been trying to accomplish since March; broker the safe return of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists who were sentenced to 12 years hard labor after being arrested while crossing into N. Korea from China. Clinton and the journalists returned home today to tearful eyes and open arms of family members and Al Gore, who owns the media company the journalists work for.

View the emotional press conference:

Apparently this trip had been in the works for some time as the White House & the N. Korean Foreign Ministry had been engaging in talks for months. Possible candidates to make the trip included Bill Richardson New Mexico governor Bill Richardson as well as former President Al Gore, but the Koreans let it be known that Bill was their choice to engage in talks.

Clinton's visit was the first visit by such a high-ranking U.S. official since then Secretary of State, Madeline Albright visited with N. Korean officials in 2000. According to the White House "Mr. Clinton went to North Korea as a private citizen, did not carry a message from Mr. Obama for Mr. Kim and had the authority to negotiate only for the women’s release"... Right.. Bill Clinton has had a vested interest in N. Korea and its nuclear capabilities since his time a president and officials close to the matter said “It would be someplace between surprising and shocking if there wasn’t some substantive discussion between the former president, who is deeply knowledgeable about the nuclear issue, and Kim Jong-il."

Whatever was said at that table may never be known by anyone who was not in attendance, but the outcome is clear. Two U.S. citizens have been reunited with their families and have escaped a terrible fate thanks to the efforts of Bill Clinton and other U.S. diplomats.

Eight and a half years removed from office, and Bill Clinton's appeal and effectiveness on a global stage cannot be overstated. The fact that he was sought by the Koreans, made the trip there and came back with the two journalists in under 24 hours says something. Someone told me a long time ago that "you have to be in demand to make demands." President Clinton's successful trip embodies that phrase. SWAGGER !!