Why I'm kayaking the San Joaquin

Simona and Adolfo Magaña have no running water; they fill these buckets from a neighbor's tap.

• John Sutter is starting a project on California's San Joaquin River and watershed


• He is going to try to walk and kayak down the river


• American Rivers named the San Joaquin the "most endangered" U.S. river


• It starts in the Sierra Nevada and flows into the San Francisco Bay

Editor's note: John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN Opinion and creator of CNN's Change the List project. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. E-mail him at ctl@cnn.com. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Monson, California (CNN) -- In California, water flows uphill toward money and power. That's a well-known maxim out here, especially in the Dust-Bowl-ready Central Valley -- that forgotten stretch of California that grows 40% of U.S. fruits, nuts and other table foods.

Meet a few people and it's easy to see why.

There's Joel Sampedro, 56, whose garden hose started spitting out sand, not water, about this time last year; or Simona Magaña, a 70-year-old former farm worker who stores water in buckets in the back of a rusty yellow pickup truck because her well is busted and there's no reliable public system for her to hook up to; she uses that nonpotable water to wash dishes, take showers and "flush" the toilet; or Eunice Martinez, 48, who, like many here, makes a distinction between "water," which is the stuff that comes from her tap, and which is usually too polluted to drink, and "drinking water," which is the stuff she buys in plastic bottles.

"We're in the United States of America. We should be able to turn on that water and drink out of it," Martinez told me, standing by her kitchen sink, which has a five-gallon water jug next to it for cooking. "We can't ... It's discriminatory, racist."

This is the invisible California -- the "other California." A place of pickup trucks and pesticides. More West Texas than West Hollywood.

It's the same California John Steinbeck chronicled in "The Grapes of Wrath," the epic book about "Okies" who left the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl and fled to farms here. Some of them are still around. On Tuesday, I went to the town of Tooleville (nickname: "Little Okie"); and the unincorporated town of Monson. There, I met Clarence Harms, whose family came to this supposed promised land from Kansas and Oklahoma when the dust storms made life back there unbearable.

And it's the California that's going to be the subject of my next project in the Change the List series. I'm fascinated by this forgotten valley and a major river, the San Joaquin, that cuts through it. The advocacy group American Rivers recently named the San Joaquin the "most endangered" river in the country. To figure out why, I'm setting off on a three-week journey to try to kayak and walk along its path.

I'm doing so because I want to understand the river and the people who depend on it -- beyond the screaming headlines about drought-year California politics.

I want to get to know this river, at a river's pace, on a river's terms.

I started the journey on Tuesday by going on a tour of the Central Valley with the Community Water Center in Visalia, California. I did that because I wanted to understand how and why water matters to people here. I found out it's everything. Yet there's not nearly enough to go around. Wells are going dry. Those who do have water have to deal with pollution from nitrate, which is linked to blue baby syndrome, kidney disease and other maladies. Some blame farmers for slurping up groundwater with virtually no regulatory oversight from the state. Farm advocates say there's not enough river water for them, in part because of regulations to protect rare fish. They say they're pulling groundwater to survive, too.

I'm going to withhold judgment for now, but I plan to wade deeper into these and many other environmental and social issues on my trip down the San Joaquin. The adventure down the river starts for real on Wednesday. I'm going to hike up to the untouched headwaters, high in the Sierra Nevada.

I'm hoping to end beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in early July.

That's assuming I don't get lost or die of heat exhaustion.

You can follow the journey on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Or, to make it easier, there's a page on CNN.com that will collect all that stuff for you.

I'll be using the hashtag #endangeredriver.

I could ramble on about my plans, but you'll get to hear all about them in the coming weeks. For now, let me leave you with this: Water is such a deeply personal topic out here in California that Marcelina Sampedro, the wife of the man whose hose started sputtering sand, told me she has two recurring dreams about it.

Both are about a river, but they're slightly different.

Version1: The water is clean and pure. Someone is struggling to swim, but Sampedro is able to grab this anonymous person and pull him or her out to safety.

Version2: The river is polluted, which makes it not unlike the water that comes out of her tap. She and her husband use a $900 water filter/robot (it looks like a miniature version of Eve from WALL-E) to remove the nitrates from the water that comes out of their sink. They both work on fruit orchards, picking crops in the 100-degree heat, paid by the weight, and making about $26,000, together, per year.

In that second dream, again, the person in the river is drowning.

She tries to help but can't.

The unnamed figure drowns.

She wakes up to a life where she and her husband would have no water at home if it weren't for the generosity of Clarence, their neighbor, who gives them water from his well. They're all worried his well could go dry, too.

There are potential fixes for all this, and state programs that are trying to bring safe water to more people in the Central Valley and elsewhere.

But there's just not enough water to go around.

So water continues to flow uphill.

Toward money and power.

That's the history. And, if more's not done, it's looking like the future.

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'Hey Dude' celebrates 25th anniversary

The cast of the beloved Nickelodeon series "Hey Dude" reunited at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas on June 6, 2014, 25 years after the Western-themed sitcom premiered. See what (L-R) David Lascher, Geoffrey Coy, Debrah Kalman, Josh Tygiel, Christine Taylor, David Brisbin and Jonathan Galkin have been up to since then ...

Christine Taylor played Melody Hansen, the Bar None Dude Ranch's bubbly girl-next-door type.

After the show ended, Taylor went on to appear in such fan favorites as "The Brady Bunch" film series, "Arrested Development" and "Friends." Taylor married funnyman Ben Stiller in 2000, and the pair have two children. The couple have worked together on a number of hit films, including "Zoolander" and "Dodgeball." Taylor is currently making motherhood her top priority, but may work with her husband on a new movie in 2015.

David Lascher starred as handsome troublemaker Ted McGriff.

Lascher has continued his life on the tube with major roles in "Sabrina The Teenage Witch," "Blossom," and the TV series version of "Clueless." The father of three has a recurring role on ABC Family's "Melissa & Joey," and premiered his writing/directing feature debut, "Sister," at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

David Brisbin played Mr. Ernst, the owner of Bar None, and provided most of the show's laughs.

After the show, the veteran character actor went on to roles in "Forrest Gump," "ER," and "Erin Brockovich." The father of two has been married to "ER" actress Laura Innes since 1988.

You may remember Josh Tygiel as Buddy Ernst, Mr. Ernst's skateboard-loving son. The series marked both the first, and final, role for Tygiel, who quit acting shortly after the show's end.

Tygiel (second from right) got a master's degree in history and now works as a writer and editor for a private investigation firm. The former Tucson teen now lives in Portland with his wife and son.

Debrah Kalman played Lucy, the mother figure of the dude ranch, and the voice of reason for the teens.

Kalman left acting after "Hey Dude" to teach school. The Florida resident recently retired from teaching and is planning a return to acting.

Jonathan Galkin joined "Hey Dude" in Season 3 as Jake Decker, Mr. Ernst's slacker musician nephew.

Galkin too quit acting shortly after the role, adding only one additional credit to his resume. The father of three went to NYU before co-founding DFA Records in 2000. Galkin still heads the successful indie label, which has included LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip on its roster.

Geoffrey Coy played Kyle Chandler, another late series addition as the heartthrob to rival Ted McGriff.

Coy (back row, center) joined the show on the heels of finishing high school, but left acting after the finale. Coy went to school instead and currently works as a director of marketing.

Joe Torres made his acting debut as the easygoing Danny ... and not much more is known about him. Torres did not continue acting, and the series remains his only credit. The cast and crew have not remained in touch with Torres, and have had no luck locating him. Rumors circulate on the web that Torres is deceased, but all reports remain unconfirmed. Torres remains the biggest mystery of "Hey Dude."

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• The cast of Nickelodeon's "Hey Dude" reunited after 25 years


• "Hey Dude" was Nickelodeon's first scripted show


• It was the first time the group was together since the show wrapped in 1991

(CNN) -- In the summer of 1989, Nickelodeon debuted its first scripted sitcom, which followed an Arizona dude ranch owner and the teens he employed for the summer. A lovably goofy concept even then, "Hey Dude" ran for 65 episodes and ultimately helped define Nick's programming for the next 25 years. It's since become a cult classic that would find new life on the Internet and on DVD, with reruns still getting airtime.

Cast and crew members of the beloved comedy reunited in honor of the show's 25th anniversary in Austin, Texas, for the third annual ATX Television Festival. It marked the first time the group had sat down together since the show wrapped filming in 1991. The "Hey Dude" gang sat down with both fans and reporters for an afternoon of questions, anecdotes and memories.

David Lascher, who portrayed lovable troublemaker Ted McGriff, said he was taken aback when he saw his cast mates.

"It's so nice to see everybody. It's just a flood of amazing memories," he says. "Everyone looks great, seems happy. I can't believe it's been so long."

Christine Taylor, who played bubbly girl-next-door Melody Hanson, said her kids played in the same gym class as Lascher's at one point, but it has been difficult to keep in contact with everyone.

"Some of us did stay in touch, but it was back in the day when we all left, and we didn't have e-mail addresses," she says. "If you moved and you weren't responsible with your address book, you lost touch."

Series writer Alan Goodman went on to write and produce 1990s Nick hits "Clarissa Explains It All" and "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo," and opens up about why "Hey Dude" remains close to the hearts of everyone involved.

"None of us had any experience at all before this," Goodman said, "so it's something we all do remember fondly."

Taylor said some memories of the show's aesthetics continue to make her cringe -- especially when it comes to the wardrobe.

"I don't even think that was cool then! I don't remember pleated khaki shorts belted with a shirt and a bolero being cool -- even for people who lived on a dude ranch," she says.

But Debrah Kalman, who co-starred as ranch mother figure Lucy, said she took some of the costumes home after the show wrapped and wears them to this day.

The youngest star, Josh Tygiel, got the role of the skateboarding Buddy after responding to an open call notice in a local Tucson newspaper. Tygiel lived at home during the show's filming, but as Taylor recalls, the rest of the cast were in much closer quarters.

"Being away from home, we bonded very quickly. We were at the Ramada Inn, and then we upgraded to the Radisson Suites."

There were two major absences from the reunion: Kelly Brown, who portrayed strong-minded rich girl Brad Taylor, and Joe Torres, who played the easy-going Danny. Brown had to pull out at the last minute due to a family emergency -- and no one in the group is still in contact with Torres or clued in to his whereabouts.

"We don't really know," Goodman said. "We just know the same rumors that everybody else knows that reads the Internet. There was a rumor he died, there was a rumor he was selling cars in New Jersey, but I don't know if anybody has confirmed any of these things. He's been hard to find."

Taylor and Torres visited the former Bar None Dude Ranch set in Tucson together a year or two after the show wrapped. Although not as run-down as it appears in a recently uploaded fan visit, Taylor said it was depressing nonetheless.

"It was really sad. It was all still standing, but it just all looked decrepit. Pieces were taken, everything was stripped down."

The cast members now have children of their own, and have had a variety of experiences introducing "Hey Dude" to a new generation.

"A few years ago, somebody contacted me and said they're rerunning all the episodes, so I DVR'd them for my children," says Lascher. "My oldest, who was probably like 8 at the time, really loved it. She totally was into it!"

It wasn't quite the same positive reaction for Jonathan Galkin, who joined the show as series regular Jake Decker in Season 3.

"I bought the DVDs and showed them to my children, but their eyes glazed over," recalls Galkin. "They did not think it was funny."

The cast and crew are mostly in agreement a reboot of the series doesn't sound like a good idea, with or without the original characters. For Taylor, "Hey Dude" worked so well in part because of the time it aired.

"Nowadays, a reboot would be so different. There's something very simple about the show," she says. "It was just these kids on a dude ranch navigating their way through these simple issues. I don't think it would be cool to see Brad and Melody texting each other or Instagram-ing each other!"

Show writer Lisa Melamed says "Hey Dude" is still the most asked-about credit on her résumé, despite later work on critical favorites like "Party of Five" and "Sisters."

"I've actually had people come up to me over the last few years ... and say things like, 'You shaped my childhood.' It's an amazing thing to hear!"

Of all the times people have recognized her from the show, Taylor said, one instance stands out.

"The year I was marrying my husband [actor/director Ben Stiller], we're at a party, and this sort of L.A., blonde type comes up to me and says, 'Oh my god! Melody from "Hey Dude".' And I said, 'Oh my god, you know "Hey Dude"?' And she said, 'Yeah. I'm Paris Hilton.' And that was the first time I met Paris Hilton."

Can Clinton disown Obama on policy?

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured in October 2012, has become one of the most powerful people in Washington. Here's a look at her life and career through the years.

Before she married Bill Clinton, she was Hillary Rodham. Here, Rodham talks about student protests in 1969, which she supported in her commencement speech at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974.

Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton helps first lady Rosalynn Carter on a campaign swing through Arkansas in June 1979. Also seen in the photo is Hillary Clinton, center background.

Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS show "60 Minutes."

With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd at his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992.

Al Gore, Tipper Gore, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, after they gave speeches on family values on August 23, 1992.

Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993.

Clinton pours herself a cup of tea in 1993 while testifying to the Senate Education and Labor Committee about health care reform.

Clinton speaks at George Washington University on September 10, 1993, in Washington during her husband's first term.

Clinton waves to the media on January 26, 1996, as she arrives at federal court in Washington for an appearance before a grand jury. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas.

Hillary Clinton looks on as President Clinton discusses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 26, 1998.

Hillary and Bill Clinton arrive at Foundry United Methodist Church on August 16, 1998, in Washington. He became the first sitting president to testify before a grand jury when he testified via satellite about the Lewinsky matter.

Clinton shakes hands during a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, New York, on March 5, 2000.

Clinton waves to the crowd as she arrives on the stage at the Democratic National Convention on August 14, 2000, in Los Angeles.

Clinton campaigns for a Senate seat October 25, 2000, at Grand Central Station in New York.

Hillary Clinton is sworn in as a senator of New York in a re-enactment ceremony with, from left, President Clinton, nephew Tyler, daughter Chelsea, brother Hugh Rodham, mother Dorothy Rodham and Vice President Al Gore on January 3, 2001, in Washington.

Andrew Cuomo, Eliot Spitzer and Clinton celebrate with a crowd of Democratic supporters after their wins in various races November 7, 2006, in New York.

Clinton speaks during a post-primary rally on January 8, 2007, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The Clintons pay a visit to the 92nd annual Hopkinton State Fair in Contoocook, New Hampshire, on September 2, 2007.

Clinton speaks at a campaign rally September 2, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton addresses a question during a debate with other Democratic presidential candidate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on September 26, 2007. Also pictured are U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, left, and former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska.

Felipe Bravo, left, and Christian Caraballo are covered with Hillary Clinton stickers in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 8, 2008.

Clinton campaigns in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with her daughter, Chelsea, on January 1, 2008, two days ahead of the January 3 state caucus.

Clinton waves as she speaks to supporters at the National Building Museum on June 7, 2008, in Washington. After pulling out of the presidential race, Clinton thanked her supporters and urged them to back Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.

Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a Unity Rally in Unity, New Hampshire, on June 27, 2008.

Obama watches Clinton address the Democratic National Convention on August 26, 2008. The two endured a long, heated contest for the 2008 nomination.

Sen. Charles Schumer, left, looks toward Secretary of State designate Clinton as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. John Kerry, center, looks on during nomination hearings January 13, 2009, on Capitol Hill.

Clinton testifies during her confirmation hearing for secretary of state on January 13, 2009, in Washington.

Clinton, as secretary of state, dances with a local choir while visiting the Victoria Mxenge Housing Project in Philippi, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, on August 8, 2009.

Clinton looks through binoculars toward North Korea during a visit to an observation post July 21, 2010, at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.

Clinton walks up the steps to her aircraft as she leaves a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on July 23, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Hillary and Bill Clinton pose on the day of their daughter's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky on July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton observe a moment of silence before a NATO meeting November 19, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Clinton listens as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu makes a brief statement November 29, 2010, before a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington.

Clinton shakes hands with a child during an unannounced walk through Tahrir Square in Cairo on March 16, 2011.

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton and members of Obama's national security team receive an update on the Osama bin Laden mission May 1, 2011, in the Situation Room of the White House.

Clinton checks her personal digital assistant prior to departing Malta on October 18, 2011.

Clinton speaks as Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai listens during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 7, 2012.

Clinton arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel on July 15, 2012.

Clinton looks on as Obama makes a statement in response to the attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya on September 12, 2012.

Clinton applauds Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremony where Suu Kyi was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on September 19, 2012.

Bill Clinton kisses his wife after introducing her at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting on September 24, 2012, in New York City.

Clinton shakes hands with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on September 24, 2012, in New York.

Clinton stands during a news conference following meetings at the prime minister's office in Pristina, Kosovo, on October 31, 2012. Clinton said that Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, fiercely opposed by Serbia, was "not up for discussion."

Clinton chats with Suu Kyi before Obama speaks at the University of Yangon in Yangon, Myanmar, on November 19, 2012.

Obama looks at Clinton before the start of a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, far right, during the East Asian Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 20, 2012.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Clinton at the prime minister's office November 20, 2012, in Jerusalem.

Clinton receives a sports jersey and football helmet from Deputy Secretary Tom Nides, center, after returning to work on January 7, 2013, following a fall where she hit her head and doctors later detected a blood clot. The number 112 represented the number of countries that she had visited as secretary of state.

Clinton and her husband arrive for the inauguration for Obama's second term on January 21, 2013.

Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 23, 2013. Lawmakers questioned Clinton about the security failures during the Benghazi, Libya, attacks that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

From left, first lady Michelle Obama stands with former first ladies Laura Bush, Clinton, Barbara Bush and Rosalynn Carter at the opening ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on April 25, 2013.

From left, Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush listen to speakers during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Soweto, South Africa, on December 10.

Clinton ducks after a woman threw a shoe at her while she was delivering remarks at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries conference in Las Vegas on April 10.

Clinton tours the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York with President Barack Obama, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, first lady Michelle Obama and former President Clinton on May 15.

Hillary Clinton talks with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer on Thursday, June 5, for her first television interview in conjunction with the release of her new book.

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• Frida Ghitis: Hillary Clinton has to walk a tightrope when it comes to foreign policy


• Clinton can't disown Obama's policies, but she differed with him on key issues, says Ghitis


• She says Clinton wanted to arm Syria rebels and keep a large force in Iraq


• Ghitis: As Obama loses support on foreign policy, Clinton can maintain her standing

Editor's note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for the Miami Herald and World Politics Review. A former CNN producer and correspondent, she is the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing World in the Age of Live Television." Follow her on Twitter @FridaGhitis. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Frida Ghitis.

(CNN) -- Should Hillary Clinton embrace or criticize President Barack Obama's foreign policy? This is a particularly complicated choice she faces as she sets out on what looks like a soft launch of a presidential campaign with her "Hard Choices" memoir.

She must distance herself from key elements of Obama's controversial foreign policy record while simultaneously defending it because, after all, as secretary of state she was a prominent official on the administration's foreign policy team.

The answer is a delicate balance, one that risks looking like clever calculation but in fact reflects reality.

The fact is that Clinton, as administration insiders have repeatedly confirmed, offered Obama strong advice, which he often ignored. The record shows that in areas where Obama did not heed Clinton's more muscular approach, the outcomes have at times proved little short of disastrous.

Where he listened to her, as when she urged him to launch the risky raid to kill Osama bin Laden or shift U.S. policy for Myanmar, the administration scored tangible gains.

Clinton cannot launch a wholesale attack on Obama's policies. That would reek of disloyalty, it would anger Obama's core supporters, and it would risk looking like an assault on her own record as the country's top diplomat.

At the same time, she cannot simply ignore the controversies and wage an energetic defense, a full embrace of America's international record at a time when Obama is scoring the lowest poll numbers of his presidency on that issue. Obama's foreign policy looks like a key vulnerability for Democrats in the next presidential election.

Fareed's Take: Is deterrence enough?

Rice: Allies have confidence in Obama

Landscape leaves much to be desired

It's impossible to know with certainty if different policies would have yielded better results, but there is no question that the global landscape six years into Obama's presidency leaves much to be desired.

Syria is a humanitarian and strategic disaster. Relations with Russia are worse than they have been in decades, and Vladimir Putin has annexed Crimea, which is legally Ukrainian territory.

Ties with key Arab allies are frayed. In Egypt, all sides are angry at Washington. The U.S. supported democratic aspirations there over the fate of an authoritarian but loyal ally, former President Hosni Mubarak. Now Egypt has no democracy and another authoritarian ruler.

In Pakistan, the Taliban are wreaking havoc as the United States leaves neighboring Afghanistan. Iraq is spiraling into disaster. Israelis and Palestinians are as far from peace as ever. Tensions are rising in East Asia. Extremists are slaughtering civilians in Africa, and Libya is in chaos. It's not a pretty picture.

What's a former secretary of state and likely presidential candidate to do?

The answer is to carefully draw the tactical differences with her former boss, explaining that many of the strategic objectives were similar -- and thus drawing a clear distinction with Republicans -- while respectfully showing where she and the President she loyally served disagreed.

Parting ways on Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq

Where did they disagree? On Syria, Clinton was one of the early advocates of arming moderates fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Obama chose to largely stay out, while declaring that al-Assad must go.

Now, in what should be a profound embarrassment for the administration, Obama's man in Damascus has turned on the President.

Former Ambassador Robert Ford said he resigned because "I was no longer in a position where I felt I could defend American policy." Terrorist groups are running free. "We warned this would happen, and it has," Ford said. "The State Department thought we needed to give much more help" to the opposition. That is what Clinton has recommended.

Another area of disagreement was Afghanistan. Clinton supported Obama's 2009 surge, but she opposed his decision to announce an early date for the troops' withdrawal. According to Vali Nasr, who served on Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke's Afghanistan-Pakistan mission, Clinton was "eyed with suspicion" by the White House, which sidelines the State Department on most foreign policy.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote that she "argued forcefully" against the Afghanistan withdrawal date.

Obama's decision to announce an Afghanistan withdrawal date sent a message to the Taliban that they could wait out the U.S. presence, undermining the impact of Obama's surge, as Clinton warned. Obama's reluctance to take on a more assertive international leadership position, to follow a more muscular foreign policy - which she had advocated -- arguably empowered extremists everywhere.

She also advised Obama against turning his back on Egypt's Mubarak, urging the President to advocate a more gradual transition to democracy. Obama rejected her advice and things did not go well for Egypt or for relations between the two countries.

Clinton recommended that the U.S. leave behind a substantial residual force in Iraq to help prevent a return to sectarian violence and terrorism, a version confirmed by former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey. Obama sought a smaller force.

In the end, the two countries could not reach agreement and all Americans left. Perhaps it would not have been possible to keep a U.S. force there, but recent events underline that her instincts were correct. Iraq is now teetering, with an al Qaeda spin-off gaining key territory from the central government.

Several administration insiders, including Nasr, confirm the account that Clinton was a strong advocate on the raid that killed bin Laden, whose position was at odds with that of Gates and Vice President Joe Biden.

In her book, speaking of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Clinton says she disagreed with Obama's tactical move to demand a complete settlement freeze from Israel. She said she thought the emphasis was misplaced and created unnecessary tensions. Not everyone believes her claim that she was just a messenger for his policy when she promoted that approach. But Nasr says the Arab-Israeli issue was "for all practical purposes managed from the White House."

Soft power approach in 112 countries

With the White House taking control of most big foreign policy areas, Clinton found a separate path, launching a campaign of public diplomacy, traveling to 112 countries, drawing large crowds and making headlines.

It was a soft power approach, but it raised America's profile, advancing women's rights along with one of her top policy goals. In 2010, she explained that "my big-picture commitment is to restore American leadership ... everything I've done is in in furtherance of that."

On the Benghazi, Libya, events that ended in the death of America's ambassador to Libya, she will not be able to deflect full responsibility onto Obama. But her argument may resonate in some quarters when she says that Republican attacks on her over Benghazi make her want to run for office.

"Our great country should not be playing minor league ... we ought to be in majors," and the Republican reaction to Benghazi is a distraction from what Congress should be doing to raise America's game.

Clinton did not get everything right. Her failure to list Nigeria's Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, for example, was a mistake. And to the extent that she did play a role in Obama's foreign policy, she cannot completely disassociate herself from his failures. But her instincts on many counts were on target.

Before leaving office, Clinton writes, she left a note to Obama warning about Putin. "If Putin is restrained and doesn't push beyond Crimea into eastern Ukraine it will not be because he has lost his appetite for more power, territory and influence."

Clinton can embrace Obama's goal of leading a country that is respected as a symbol of freedom in the world, while explaining that she would have done some things differently. That if Obama had listened to the hard choices she suggested, America -- and the world -- would be better off.

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