Surely, Cal Ripken Jr. will rescue U.S. public diplomacy

One little item that I neglected to put in this morning’s Brief: In just a few minutes, Condi Rice will appoint Cal Ripken Jr. to be “Special Sports Envoy to the Department of State”:

In this capacity Mr. Ripken will join Karen P. Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in efforts promoting cross-cultural dialogue with international youth to increase understanding of America by sharing his impressive personal story and life experiences.

I’ve got nothing against baseball’s Iron Man; in fact, as a young Little League bench-warmer growing up in nearby Delaware, I idolized the Baltimore’s shortstop. A first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, he’s a great role model for young kids in places like Haiti who dream of playing in the major leagues. But it’s going to take a lot more than the Iron Man to repair America’s image around the world.

UPDATE: Here’s Cal (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images).