Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a simple answer to Republican criticism over President Obama's foreign policies: In effect, she said, sorry, we won.

Secretary Clinton testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in her first appearance since being confirmed. Much of it was a love fest in which many her former Democratic colleagues in the Congress praised the Obama administration's new tone in setting foreign policy, calling Clinton "a breath of fresh air" and an "extraordinary secretary of state" who is "destined to be one of our nation's finest, finest diplomats."

But Clinton faced tough questions from some Republican lawmakers. And she gave as good as she got, with a few digs at the Bush administration thrown in for good measure.

On Venezuela, Rep Mike Pence (R-IND) said the photo of President Obama last week smiling with President Chavez at the Summit of the Americas sent the wrong signal. Clinton told the panel that she found the obession with the photo "rather amusing," but Pence aruged the leader of the free world seen laughing with a "virulent anti-American socialist dictator" could be demoralizing to oppressed people around the world fighting for freedom.

Clinton's message: tough luck, respectfully.

"We want your constructive criticism. We want your feedback," she told Pence. "But President Obama won the election. He beat me in a primary, in which he put forth a different approach. And he is now our president."

Clinton argued the last eight years of the Bush administration trying to isolate Chavez didn't work. And so, she said "we're going to try some different things."

The same, she argued, holds for a woman's right to seek an abortion. Responding to some harsh criticism from Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NEB) on President Obama's pro-choice policy, Clinton said they would just have to agree to disagree.

"We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women's health and reproductive health includes access to abortion that I believe should be safe, legal and rare," she said. "That is a choice that they will be able to exercise as free, independent, American women. That's what I want for all women."

Eight years traveling the world as first lady, Clinton said, showed her how women have suffered from botched abortions and young girls bearing children at age 12.

She also helped create a campaign against teenage pregnancy which helped the rate of pregnant teens, she said, but added "I'm sad to report that after an administration of eight years that undid so much of the good work, the rate of teenage pregnancy is going up."

'"We are now an administration that will protect the rights of women, including their rights to reproductive health care," she said, drawing cheers from the audience and a smile from Committee Chair Howard Berman (D-CA)

Clinton saved her sharpest criticism for former Vice President Dick Cheney. President Obama's decision to release memos detailing the Bush administration's role in torture of detainees held in the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba drew some testy exchanges from several GOP members.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California, asked the administration to release other classified documents that Cheney has said will explain the Bush administration's position on interrogation.

"I will support whatever decision the Obama administration makes," Clinton told him.

When Rohrabacher asked her what her recommendation would be, Clinton said, "I am not going to share that with you, because I don't know any facts that support what you're describing."

"It won't surprise you," Clinton said of Cheney, "that I don't consider him a particularly reliable source of information."