Sidelined for weeks, Clinton aims to retake limelight

But with its muscular tone and sweeping scope, it was also an effort to recapture the limelight after a period in which Clinton has nursed both a broken elbow and the perception that the State Department has lost influence to an assertive White House.

Appearing before a crowd of hundreds to outline US foreign policy goals, Clinton defended President Obama’s desire to reach out to adversaries, an approach Clinton had disparaged as a White House candidate.

Declaring that “no nation can meet the world’s challenges alone,’’ she said the United States was pursuing multifront diplomacy with a host of countries and other players, even adversaries like Iran. She condemned Tehran for cracking down on postelection protests, saying its actions were “deplorable and unacceptable.’’

With a few exceptions - during the presidential primary campaign, she had derided the idea of engaging Iran - the speech sounded like one Clinton might have given as a candidate, when she sought to make her foreign policy credentials a trump card over the rival who is now her boss. Faced with a White House that has tended to centralize control over policy, Clinton is defending her prerogatives as an influential, but loyal, member of the president’s team.

In recent weeks, the administration’s top Iran policy maker was reassigned from the State Department to the White House National Security Council; Clinton’s candidate to lead the US Agency for International Development is entangled in the vetting process; and she has failed to get her choices into some plum ambassadorships, notably Japan, which went to a fund-raiser for President Obama.

Her aides and people at the White House dismiss suggestions that Clinton has been sidelined. Her relationship with Obama is strong, they say, and she remains an influential voice in all key debates. The recent personnel issues are part of the pull and tug of any administration in its early days, they argue.

Other foreign affairs specialists say the doubts about Clinton’s role reflect an unrealistic view of the job of secretary of state.

“There’s a reflex assumption on the part of a lot of people that the secretary of state is going to be out there, on every conceivable issue,’’ said Strobe Talbott, a former deputy secretary of state under President Bill Clinton. “But to do that on every conceivable issue is way too much, particularly when we have so many issues.’’

After the speech, Clinton went to the White House for private talks in the Oval Office with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Officials said the visit was among the regular sessions she has had with the president and his national security aides.

Clinton and Obama “enjoy a very close relationship.’’ White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. “The secretary of state is somebody who the president relies on greatly. She has an enormously important role in the development of and the execution of a foreign policy that changes our image in the world. . . . I think the notion that there’s some rift or disagreement is nothing more than silly Washington games.’’

Set to depart today on an around-the-world trip, Clinton no longer wore the black sling on her arm. She did not appear to show any signs of discomfort as she gestured with her hands during the speech.

Her limited presence recently, followed by her startling public criticism of the White House for delaying a key appointment, has led to speculation about whether her influence is waning.

Some foreign policy observers say Clinton has been long overdue in carving out her own diplomatic persona.

“Her role so far has been more in the field of public relations than in policy formation,’’ said Reginald Dale, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “She needs to decide if she wants to be the administration’s mascot or have an impact on actual policy.’’

Clinton’s frustration appeared evident Monday. In a rare fit of pique, she lashed out at the White House for failing to quickly nominate someone to lead the US Agency for International Development.

The White House declined to comment on the remarks and Clinton returned to the theme yesterday with more delicate language.

In response to a question about the challenges of government, she said she never envisioned it would take so long to get a full team on board.

Clinton aides say she is eager to get back to what had been a busy pace of travel and events.