President Clinton failed pathetically to persuade Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif not to test nuclear weapons, but then Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't fare any better in her foray into Pakistani politics.
A few weeks before India detonated five nuclear devices, the first lady met in the Map Room of the White House with Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and now leader of the chief opposition party in Pakistan. This was unusual, both because opposition leaders aren't usually hosted at the White House and because the current leader, Sharif, hadn't been invited at all.
But Hillary had met earlier with Bhutto when she visited Pakistan, so there was a rationale for the meeting here. The two talked about politics and policy for 35 minutes, and it's clear now that Hillary didn't make much of an impression. Later, after India went nuclear, Bhutto sneeringly rejected the Clinton position that Pakistan shouldn't follow suit. On the contrary, she publicly taunted Sharif, insisting his manhood was at stake if he didn't explode some nukes. She even offered to send him jewelry to wear with a dress, should he continue to act like a scared woman. That wasn't exactly the Hillary line.