Clinton: Haiti's 'Ironic' Twist of Fate Embodied in Monday NewsHour Report

EARTHQUAKE -- January 15, 2010 at 5:15 PM EDT

During a press briefing late Friday afternoon, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took questions on the relief effort in Haiti and announced plans to travel to the beleaguered country on Saturday. She also referenced a segment the NewsHour aired Monday -- just a day before the powerful earthquake hit -- about signs of hope in Haiti.

Here's what Secretary Clinton had to say:

And it was so ironic that Monday night on PBS there was a long story about how Haiti was on the way back. It was a story on the Jim Lehrer show. I don't know if that's still its name, but that's what I call it.

And it was such a hopeful story. And it had interviews with elected officials, business leaders. And people who watched that were just so revved up. And one of the things it showed was this really successful business conference that my husband led a few months ago, 500 businesses from all over the world, you know, signing contracts, opening factories. The next day, you know, this happens. So, look, it's not easy. We know there is a long way to go. But I think if we're smart about how we choose to interact with them and if we have the right set of expectations, I think this can be done.

Watch special correspondent Kira Kay's dispatch:

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