Richard Holbrooke was the man who would be king, with jurisdiction from India to Afghanistan, overseeing American diplomacy and foreign policy in a region that will make or break the Obama presidency. But almost from the beginning things didn’t go as planned. The Indians sent a clear message to Washington: Holbrooke was not welcome, and on the day that the Indian Prime Minister is in town for Obama’s first state dinner, Holbrooke is off to Telluride for a ski vacation. Ben Smith reports that Holbrooke was at the “war council” meeting at the White House last night, though neither Holbrooke’s staff or the pictures confirm it, but says that his current “absence seems to confirm what has been whispered for months: That he has not occupied the central role on Afghanistan strategy that he had once been expected to take, and that although — or perhaps because — he’s maintained his strong relationship with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his relationship with the White House leaves something to be desired.” In February, when Holbrooke’s fortunes were on the rise, the New York Times published a glowing profile of the megalomaniac diplomat. Wes Clark told the paper that Holbrooke “sees power the way an artists sees color.” The paper also reported in passing that Holbrooke has a “personal archivist,” who’ll no doubt put together a lovely scrapbook of Holbrooke’s time in Telluride.
