Letters to the Editor
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Relentless Careerism
Ms. Rice is a posterchild for the relentless careerism that is driven by the political appointment system that rules Washington. The most important rule, tell your boss and the person who can promote you what they want to hear. Never allow independent judgment to allow you to fail to fulfil the most important rule.
In turn, Washington is full of people who "rate" the intelligence and ability of people by how much they agree with them and think-up factoids no matter how dubious to support the argument. Thus, if you were for example listening to a Republican (or for that matter Democratic) blowhard pontificate on a topic, and that person was senior to you, you would be rated an idiot if you murmured a single discouraging thing. You are smart if you agree and a genius if you come up with a better way of framing the argument or a specious item of support. True careerist skill is in anticipating what the blowhard will say, before it comes out and premeptively supporting the argument. Indeed, Washington careerism is essentially discrete sycophancy (or under the Bush administration, indiscreet sycophancy.)
The trouble is, eventually the careerists get jobs where the country demands that they excercise the independent judgment muscle, like National Security Advisor, Secretary of State, President and they find it has atrophied all away, leaving only a powerful tongue and set of lips . . "schlurp, suck, kiss kiss."
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Rice Pudding
Reading Joe Conason's review of Marcus Mabry's biography of Condi Rice created a direct reference for me to Brutus in Act II of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:
But 'tis a common proof,
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But, when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend...
If all that motivates Ms. Rice is the ascent, and if her motivationis are indicative of this administration's representatives, God help us. Brutus, at least, possessed as his driving principle the protection, at all costs, of the Roman republic. It seems as though it is too late for Ms. Rice to grow a backbone as sturdy as the one Brutus died for.
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Clear as day
Why talk about
Her close relationship with the president, whom she uncritically adores
when trying to understand her poor performance? She has a track record of agreeing with her bosses and this is more of the same. She's a sycophant, and her relationship and adoration for the president is just her acting like one, not the result of any honest belief or emotion.
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money where the mouth is
I have a good idea for all the surge stay the course Bushies. Let them work in Iraq. It's very easy to spew nonsense from Dupont Circle.
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Condi's "tell"
You can always tell when Condi is lying: She apparently finds it so funny to spin those whoppers to the rubes that she can't avoid smiling -- even when discussing deadly serious topics. She seems quite amused by her own clever mendacity.
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"she may yet continue to fail upward."
On Dancing With the Stars is my guess.
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But what about her husband?
Amen, jcp. Not only have I heard the exact same bj theory from many dedicated feminists, but I have heard deeply religious, scrupulously polite African-American ladies respond to the mention of Condi Rice with nothing less than the infamous c word.
Two mysteries that Conason did not mention, and that I would read the book if assured Mabry solved them:
1) How and why does the never-married, career-oriented Rice get a pass from the Xian freaks?
2) What is really behind that gaffe a few years ago when she referred to smirky as "my husb-?"
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Only A Moron
Only a Moron like Bush would appoint an embarrassment like Condi Rice. I am fed up with these criminal's. I can't stand the sight of any of them.If the democrat's had any guts they would be impeaching these pieces of slease.Powell is just as bad as Rice he played Uncle Tom to these war mongors and knew at the time he was lying us into an illegal war.Hell would be too good for this bunch
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Counting Coups and Grains of Rice
her State Department spokesman had publicly reprimanded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, which was not "appropriate ... right now."
Gosh, maybe the flap about the Pelosi trip arose because it scooped Condi's own fleeting diplomatic "coup" -- I know, that's not a word one throws around lightly among Bush Leaguers, given their predilections.
I actually feel sorry for Condi, despite all the terrible damage her enabling of "her husband," her arrogance, and her mendacity has caused, because she seems so hollow, and kind of brittle, too.
There's just a dreadful emptiness to her that reminds me of a manager at a job who lives for their job, and nothing else, and that her job has little to do with helping the country, and everything to do with helping the Party, and of course, the Leader.
Coincidentally enough, I was watching a clip of Nixon (interviewed by David Frost), and about 6:00 into it, Nixon talks about his philosophy to Kissinger, invoking Lot's wife:
Don't look back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJs80eBGYlM
So, seeing that title of this article after having just watched that, it was kinda funny and disturbing all at once -- just like Condi.
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Shape shifter Condi
Her close relationship with the president, whom she uncritically adores, has enhanced her power and prestige -- largely because she "enables" him, as Mabry puts it, without challenging his assumptions or puncturing his illusions. One close friend of Rice's, echoing many others, told the author: "She thought he could do no wrong."
As you pointed out, all her previous bosses thought she felt that way about them. Once Bush falls, look for Condi to set up camp at Obama's campaign, gazing upon her new coattail with those same adoring eyes.
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Response to JackHughes reguarding Condi's "Tell"
Don't forget the head shaking. It's almost as if her own body language is responding the words coming out of her mouth, as if to say "That's not true!" or "No it isn't!"
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My Impression of Rice
was always set by the look of raging distate on her face when the Administration tried to argue that she should not appear before the 9/11 commission. It was at that moment, that look of pure internal ugliness, that I realized that the lives that were changed by the attacks of that day were less important to her than the fact that she was being in any questioned or held to account. That has been the major flaw of this administration - their complete inability to account for themselves.