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January 19, 2005
You Go Girl
I listened to a teeny tiny bit of the hearings yesterday - actually just the nasty bits excerpted for the NPR radio news. Boxer was really off her game, and is making Democratic opposition look very reactionary. In fact, I think that is basically the state of Democrat opposition these days. There's not much thought behind it. It doesn't even resemble Lefty Liberalism so much as 'Bush is Poison'.
The Republicans can have a brilliant strategy for winning over marginal minority votes, and that is to tactically appoint blacks and latinos into positions that Leftist activists don't pay attention to. I don't believe Republican strategists are averse to dropping in an ideologue or two, or even a mediocre performer. But there is no doubt that they will continue to flummox the Dems, who have for too long been dominated by a cloying white liberal benefit of doubt when it comes to approving black & latinos. My guess is that there are dozens of significant positions that administer agencies and functions never mentioned in Democrat minority outreach.
So, not that I have been listening very carefully, I don't expect to hear many comparitive questions about the strategies and tactics of Secretaries of State. What did Madeleine Albright do that Dems did or didn't like and are they applying even a boneheaded litmus to Rice on that basis? No they are not. It's all about FUD against Bush, and the disrespectful subordination of Rice's will to that of 'Evil Massa' Bush.
Sad, really.
I can't say that I am way out ahead of most folks on this matter. If anything, I think Rice was a bit more quiet as National Security Advisor than I would have liked. But as I came to understand that is mostly a coordinating activity, I understood the reasons. But during the first term, except for when she handled that other big public hearing, I didn't see Rice as a pivotal individual and therefore hadn't looked to champion or deeply understand her positions. Nevertheless, I am somewhat concerned that Richard Armitage, someone I admired, has not signed on to work under Rice. He was Powell's man.
As Secy of State, Rice will be out front and get a lot more press. It's going to be lovely, and I am expecting a great deal of interesting press conferences to come.
Posted by mbowen at January 19, 2005 09:40 AM
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Comments
It's all just a show.
She'll be confirmed as everyone admitted going in.
No need to comment on the circus from my p.o.v.
Posted by: EBrown at January 19, 2005 07:00 PM
Actually, I am surprised to say, that I find that Condi was a disappointment as NSA. Although why (I am surprised), I don't know. It's not like she had any particular expertise in that area prior to holding the post.
That said, I hope that she might do better as Secy of State, in fact, I not only think she could not do worse (I really think she was out of her element as NSA), I think SoS might actually coincide with her abilities. But I don't think she's proven she's a top-level leader of a major, entrenched beauracracy.
In that sense, I can see where a B. Boxer could say that Condi's loyalty eclipsed her performance (although I think, in all honesty, that is a charge against her supervisor, Bush, not Condi).
I noticed this summer that Condi disappeared from public view. I hope that was a consequence of her uterine fibroids, and not an administrative decision to take her out of the limelight during a heated election campaign.
For, as well as I think of Condi, in my opinion, she doesn't hold her own in Congressional testimony -- Certainly not to the extent that she is championed in righty-blogdom.
(I think we should be honest in our assessment of the members of the prez. admin.)
Posted by: Anonymous at January 19, 2005 10:07 PM