10 Questions for Karen Hughes

A SKEPTIC MIGHT SAY THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT TO DO FIVE OR 10 YEARS AGO, BUT NOW YOU'VE GOT IRAQ AND A GENERAL PERCEPTION THAT AMERICA IS NOT A FRIEND TO MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD. I recognized going in that this is the work of decades, not of months or weeks. Bringing a cleric or a coach who perhaps was very anti-American to America, having them go home with perhaps a different view--that's not going to show up in a public-opinion poll in the next year. I told my staff this morning, "Sometimes I feel like I'm nibbling around the edges, but you just have to keep nibbling."

HOW DO YOU REACH BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL ELITES AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS? In our exchange programs, we're making a real effort to reach out to young people in different populations, not just élites. We've got a World Cup program--soccer is a world sport, something America took up after the rest of the world--and so we're going to have our embassies very involved in inviting kids to come watch the games this summer.

YOUR SON IS A FRESHMAN AT STANFORD. DOES HE WANT TO STUDY ABROAD? I strongly urged him to consider studying overseas for at least a semester, preferably a year. But you never know. Sometimes when their moms suggest things, [kids] tend not to do them.

IS HE ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL TELL YOU YOU'RE FULL OF IT IF YOU ARE? [Laughs] Frequently!