In Jakarta

NEWLY-MINTED US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have come and gone, taking with her the heavy police presence and backed-up traffic around the Four Seasons Hotel where she spent one night.

But in her 24-hours here, she has left behind an example of how charisma, effective communication and gracious behaviour will be a mainstay of America's new brand of diplomacy.

She calls it "smart power", which some foreign policy savants champion as an extension of "soft power" – an ability to gain support through persuasion in areas of trade, values and aid, instead of an in-your-face show of coercion and force.

President Obama, as the world knows, is a fan of "soft power". Mrs Clinton showed that she wears "smart power" as well as she dons her power suits.

Upon landing in Jakarta on Wednesday, she mingled with children from the elementary school that President Obama attended in his youth; later at the Asean Secretariat building, she took time out to shake hands with numerous staff members including security officers, while posing for photos with reporters.

Today, she and her entourage stopped by the sewer-lined neighbourhood of Petojo Utara in Central Jakarta, to check out small-scale water purification, recycling and composing projects, among others, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The Indonesian-language news website Okezone.com, which reported on her visit, pointed out that she was perspiring after her 200m walk to view the projects.

Still, in the photos of her visit, she was seen beaming and almost radiant.

Indonesians, already charmed by Mr Obama and his childhood connection to Indonesia, beamed back at the top diplomat in his administration.

Mrs Clinton further made her mark with a 10-minute appearance on a music talkshow for youngsters titled "Dahsyat" ("Awesome").

On-air in a chic blue pantsuit with white trimming, she demonstrated her knowledge of pop culture (albeit from her time) and casually reiterated a few cornerstones of America's brand of democracy.

To a cheering audience, she admitted that she loved the "music of my youth", naming The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

What about her loss to President Obama, and how was it like working with him now?the show's lithe hosts asked.

Well, Mrs Clinton noted, of course her loss hurt. But this was how it was in a democracy, she said, adding that the next step for the loser was to find a way to "go on helping".

"In a democracy, you close ranks….you can't just be tied up in politics and you have to make life better for people," she said.

When it came to the Gaza crisis, an issue close to the hearts of many in Indonesia, the world's most-populous Muslim country, Mrs Clinton gave an equally-savvy reply.

She was heading to Cairo next week for a conference to try and secure more humanitarian aid for people in the area, she said, while more effort would be made to achieve a "breakthrough" and arrive at an effective solution.

To wrap up the programme, the hosts asked if she would sing. One line from your favourite song, they wheedled. Mrs Clinton demurred with a self-deprecating, "Here is the problem, if I start to sing, [the audience] will leave."

Instead, she chose to end the show with a powerful greeting to TV viewers.

Say this, "Salam hangat terdasyat untuk keluarga Indonesia", the hosts suggested.

And as expected, Mrs Clinton delivered her line, which means "Most awesome warm regards to Indonesian families", with no less than a beaming smile.