In a speech last night at New York University, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice spelled out the Obama administration's vision for U.N. and global engagement. Her tone was decidedly upbeat -- almost valedictory -- and it came as no surprise to hear her happily declare, "It is a great time to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations." After eight years of hostility from the George W. Bush administration, two of which were spent under Ambassador John Bolton (who left little tiny shoes to fill), the high-spirited atmospherics were to be expected. The new administration, in stark contrast to its predecessor, has brought a wholesale shift in mood and attitude to Washington's relations with the United Nations. With it has come a jump in the step of diplomats walking the hallways in Turtle Bay. But Rice's speech, which was a good one, also deserves a very careful reading. Some important things were left out.

Rice did not expend many words considering specific situations around the globe. Anyone who was hoping for a stirring call to action on North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Middle East peace, Sudan, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo was disappointed. The speech would have been painfully long to do justice to any or all of these hot spots. Instead, the remarks were designed to deal with structural and architectural issues. And it is here that the fine print deserves attention. Note for example that U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon was mentioned a grand total of once very late in the speech (the same number of times as the U.S. secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano). U.N. employees will be carefully reading the tea leaves of this coolness in coffee shops across Manhattan's East Side.