Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a senator and former First Lady, has offered a tough pragmatism on national security matters and called for reviving U.S. credibility in the world.

President Barack Obama says he will seek vigorous climate-change policy. Efforts to curb greenhouse gases pose considerable economic pitfalls, as well as opportunities.

With the Middle East unrest ongoing and the global economy recovering, gasoline prices are rising considerably. But policies to ease U.S. consumer impact take time and policymakers are divided over t…