When First Lady Laura Bush took a specific interest in imprisoned Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi I had high hopes. I really did. In the end, Bush was unable to leverage her interesting into any kind of meaningful action. It has been 14 years since a high-level American diplomat has spoken with Suu Kyi. That changed yesterday.

From The Guardian:

Barack Obama’s policy of engagement with Burma made modest progress today after the detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, made a rare exit from the home that has been her prison for much of the past 14 years to meet senior US officials.

The Nobel peace laureate met Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for east Asia, at his hotel in the commercial capital, Rangoon, US embassy officials said, although they refused to comment on the substance of the two-hour meeting.

Campbell, accompanied by his deputy, Scot Marciel, reportedly greeted Aung San Suu Kyi with a handshake at the hotel, located a short drive from her dilapidated lakeside residence.

The pair are the highest-level US officials to visit Burma since 1995, when Madeleine Albright went as Bill Clinton’s ambassador to the UN.

Clearly, Albright’s trip produced little, if any positive result.

I have higher hopes for Campbell.