Katie Couric's Notebook: Journalists Freed

Former President Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea secured the release of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee - held there since their arrest last March. It also sealed the deal for Clinton, who has successfully assumed the mantle of elder statesman.

In other words, he got his mojo back.

Most of the op-eds began with some variation on "this is great...but…" as foreign policy experts warn against rewarding a rogue regime for bad behavior.

But a serious and business-like photo op with a gaunt Kim Jong Il is no match for the pictures of joyful tears and loving embraces on the tarmac in Burbank.

We don't know what, if anything, the U.S. might have lost in any negotiations. We just know what was gained - the safe return of two American journalists, and one sometimes polarizing former president who today can be appreciated by everyone.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.