We all like a clever and concise turn of phrase.  For Hillary Clinton last week it was the three “D's” — Defense, Diplomacy and Development — which she called the three-legged stool of American foreign policy.  Together they would comprise “smart power,” she told her new staff at the State Department, implying that from now on the United States would use its brains, not just its brawn, to get its way in the world.

Well said — given that military action alone has had such costly and adverse consequences for the United States in the last decade.

Well done, also:  By immediately naming George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace and Richard Holbrooke as Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, the President boosted the IQ of America's “smart power” by an order of magnitude.  Today Secretary Clinton herself followed up by naming Todd Stern, a veteran of the Kyoto negotiations, to be Special Envoy for Climate Change, another critical issue.

So now, supporting President Obama and Secretary Clinton, we have two megastars of international conflict resolution assigned to the thorniest, most urgent international problems.  And, in Mr. Stern, another seasoned veteran from the Bill Clinton White House.  A diplomatic dream team, backed by an enthusiastic staff.

And, lest we forget, Vice President Joe Biden, who is supposed to counsel the President on foreign affairs, and the specialists being drawn in to staff the National Security Council, including Stanford's Michael McFaul, who will be giving advice on Russia.

So, no shortage of brainpower and more than a few strong egos.

To a great degree, Hillary's reaching out to the State Department's Foreign Service last week could be counted on to elicit a warm response.  Every change of administration brings such pledges and, for a while, this is enough to sustain morale among the foreign policy professionals.

Then, usually, a Secretary of State or President finds it convenient to work via other channels (political appointees or foreign embassies), and the Foreign Service winds up feeling slighted or ignored.

But this time, things just may be different.   By rolling out these major appointments at the very start of the Administration, Obama and Clinton have an opportunity to build career staffs around these extraordinarily powerful and experienced figures, who are already well-known and respected overseas.

If a smooth-functioning foreign policy team is melded from all these disparate elements, history will be made.  Not as much as if Mitchell, Holbrooke, et al, were to solve the problems in their respective portfolios, but history nonetheless.  In terms of morale, the chances have never been better.  After all, it was George Shultz who once observed that State Department staff are most content when they have a crisis to deal with.  Right now, they have several.