Is Condoleezza All Front?

[SoDesuKa]

Condoleezza Rice has been in the middle of things when the Bush administration made a number of colossal mistakes. She famously didn't connect the dots before September 11th, and her track record on foreign policy strategy actually declined after that. It seems reasonable to ask whether there's anything behind the Condoleezza front. Granted, she's exceedingly skilled at bureaucratic in-fighting - if you get it her way, she'll kill you. But ... is that all she's got?

She has an earned Ph.D. from the University of Denver. She attained some academic rank at Stanford. Her rise in government was meteoric ... one promotion after another, until she was named Secretary of State. There seems to be a contradiction here. If she's all that brilliant, how come her performance has been so dismal?

Is she all front? It's a fair question, because she has a shot at being named McCain's running mate. It's an unpleasant thought, but she could end up as president.

[Adsos Letter]

1. The way FRONTLINE presented thins in "Bush's War"...

...it seems that she wasn't even that great at bureaucratic infighting.

[gateley]

2. I've always felt as SOS,

that she wielded zero power. I envisioned her in the Oval Office getting directions from Bushco, taking notes, rehearsing the lines she was given to say.

[spindrifter]

3. She's always been at the right

place to snag a "mentor" who is able to position her to do his bidding. The mistakes she has made in executing someone else's policy decisions have been legion. For example, as a Soviet "specialist," she hadn't the faintest clue that the USSR was going to fragment.

[malaise]

4. All front?

I've always seen her more as all sole - shoe sole and ass(h)ole.

bold.

[terrell9584]

5. reality check

Condoleeza Rice as a running mate would kill a Republican ticket in the South. Just would. The entire Republican strategy here consists of manipulating white racial tensions. When Delay created his Texas redistricting map, he deliberately included race. He added minority districts, a new majority black district and a new majority tejano district were created. The idea being to reduce the number of moderate to conservative white democrats serving in Congress in Texas and to try and enforce an image in the minds of white voters that Democratic Party=party for minorities.

Race is what they use to win. Running with a black running mate would fly in the face of that and there would be a mass defection of Republican votes in the South. These guys are pros at elections, I doubt that this is going to happen.

[SoDesuKa]

8. Against Obama?

Even if large numbers of Republicans vote third party or stay home, I don't see Obama winning in the Solid South. Condi-as-veep might not do as much damage as you think. It might also enable voters who admire her to vote Republican.

No, I don't see the Condi candidacy as the deal-breaker you do.

[terrell9584]

9. I'm not so sure Obama will be the nominee

and I'm not so sure he could win anyway. I know I'll be accused of killing the dream but the fact is this is what I want to do for a living, so I look at various campaigns. One example that comes out is how an 80% Democratic city such as Philadelphia almost elected a Republican mayor a decade ago. Many white Democrats voted for the white Republican because he was facing a black Democrat. this is what the returns say.

I know that race played a major role in electing Giuliani as Mayor of New York. The only reason that Thurbert Baker stays alive in Georgia is because he is a hardass. He is more of a tough on crime guy than most of the white attorney generals the state has had. Doug Wilder did the same thing in Virginia as a way of garnering white support.

I just don't feel confident about this when I have relatives who voted for Dukakis telling me that Obama is unacceptable in their eyes. A few of them are now living in swing states.

The Republicans strategy for Obama is to use the race card. They are going to take everything you thought the Clintons were doing and amp it up because sadly, even in 2008 it usually works more often than it doesn't, and this is something we have to think about. How the hell are we going to fight back against their playing of the racial card in swing states.

[SoDesuKa]

17. Nomination Scenario

>>The Republicans strategy for Obama is to use the race card.

You're correct that the Republicans will use whatever they can to defeat Obama, including the race card. However, I'm not sure you've laid out a scenario by which Obama won't get at least the Democratic nomination.

Are you saying that the Clinton strategy for Obama is to use the race card, too? I don't see that happening. There are plenty of racists in the Democratic party, but they don't have quite the clout they have among the Republicans.

[TheDebbieDee]

6. I think she's a puppet. I believe that she is a woman of color

that's being used to pacify the people of color in this country, to keep people of color from coming out and calling this * admin the pack of bigoted elitist fucktards that they are.

After all, early on the Nazis used some prominently placed Jewish figureheads to pacify the Jews in eastern Europe.

[lpbk2713]

7. All hat, no cattle .... Just like her husband.

The Donald was right ...

[lunatica]

10. Condoleeza Rice is loyal to George

If you look at all the Bush women, you'll see that each one plays a very specific role in promoting, protecting, and carrying out a public role to help Bush. The men around Bush don't hover protectively in the background or agree to his manipulations by putting their lives and reputations on the line. The women do though. And none of the women have ever done anything of real importance themselves. It's all for him.

Examples:
Miers, who he says is his office wife, agreed to be nominated for the Supreme Court in full knowledge that everyone would react violently on both sides, thereby letting Bush slip in the person he really wanted as if he were making a compromise.

Condoleeza Rice, who you've all pretty much summed up in your posts above. She has lied, obfuscated, and trotted all over the world to spread the threats for Bush. His intent has been to say one thing while doing another all along. Every move she's made has been for him.

Karen Hughes, his biggest protector, another one of those bulldog women in his life who will latch onto one's jugular if it will promote his agenda. Laughably named to head a delegation of people devoted to promoting friendship with the Arab world. In fact doing what all the other women in his life do. Spreading the message that it's Bush's way or else there is a price to pay. Threats are threats whether they wear lipstick and high heals or toting guns.

Babs. She's so bad at her role of protecting and promoting him that they've basically kept her out of the public arena since her crappy statement of how it was working out so well for the refugees from New Orleans.

Even Jenna Bush has seen the light and converted to working for her father's agenda.

It's about loyalty. And they're all loyal to Bush.

[riverdeep]

14. I'm not so sure I'd say definitively that men don't put their reps on the line

and fall on their sword for the Dimson. George Tennet comes to mind. Scooter Libby, although yet to see justice, effectively fell on his sword for his feurer. Heckuva job Brownie took his hits until he wised up and published the emails showing Bush incompetence. This is a mafia organization, and loyalty is more important than anything, certainly competence.

[quadriga]

19. Wrong, Libby fell on his sword for the real power in Washington

Darth Cheney

[lunatica]

21. And don't forget Laura as protector of Bush too

She's always trotted out when he's in real trouble. She dutifully does the rounds making an utter fool out of herself by showing her abysmal ignorance of reality while smilingly and vacuously seeing everything through foggy rose colored glasses. She reminds me of Pat Nixon in so many ways, and of Betty Ford who found solace in alcoholism and drugs, yet were perfectly gracious and ladylike in public. I wonder what Laura's legacy will be, if any.

[seemslikeadream]

11. .........

[Rex]

12. She is in way over her head IMO.

Just another clueless CEO looking to score more money/oil for her paymasters. A blip on the screen, nothing more.

[ColbertWatcher]

13. Ask the black community what they really think of Rice...

...Condi Rice's Disdain for the Civil Rights Movement

Condoleezza's Crimes

[riverdeep]

15. The funniest thing about her is she becomes indignant when some charge is leveled

against her. As if she would simply be incapable of malice or incompetence. She bullies questioners, whether it's reporters or Conyers, through shame. Fuck that. Someone needs to sit down in a Nixon/Frost style, and fucking lay it on the line. "You killed people." Plain and simple. But she and her handlers weed out anyone that might even think of bluntness.

[gratuitous]

16. All front?

As Gertrude Stein famously remarked of Oakland, there is no there there. I don't see any "front" to Dr. Rice. She looks like an incompetent, acts like an incompetent, and performs like an incompetent. But don't let that fool you: She is an incompetent.

[opihimoimoi]

18. Well said....Rice is Faking her way through just as the President.

Them Pubs have all the excuses....filmsy ones at that....

They never take the Blame...always some stupid lame excuse......same as pyschopaths....only these dudes got Degrees...which really tells us ya can't trust so called higher education to give us real honest Leadership....

These Pubs are living proof of that.

Condi...ya should go shopping

[MilesColtrane]

20. Nope.

Baby's got back. At least that's the reason that George loves her so.

[freethought]

22. Condi has taken advantage of popular right-wing

phenomenon, that BUSHCO. has turned into a high art form. It's called "Failing Up". The worse you do the higher you go. True merit and results be damned.