LOL....that's unfair, Steve, remember, she's an expert on the old Soviet Union, as well.
I hate her. Is hate too strong a word to use for this "administration?" After all the killing and law-breaking and Constitution-shredding? I think not.
Posted by Jeff Dinelli at October 24, 2007 11:35 AMCondi was brought in to the administration to provide "color", not expertise. How on earth could a professor of Russion Studies offer anything of value to the Middle East? Think about that: Instead of bringing in someone familiar with the region (ME) Bush brings in a cheerleader who is more interested in her ambitions than our country. Makes me cringe to think a while back some folks actually thought she would be a good president. Good for what (or whom)?
Posted by Tom at October 24, 2007 12:26 PM...a cheerleader who is more interested in her ambitions...
It's interesting that one exclusively sees the "ambition" canard used in reference to females. We never hear about Edwards' or Gore's or Obama's 'ambition'. Only about Hillary Clinton's. And now Condi Rice's. Why is that I wonder?
Posted by snark at October 24, 2007 01:16 PMI hear she plays a mean pie-ano.
And she did have her name on an Exxon oil tanker.
Posted by TIKI AL at October 24, 2007 01:20 PMIt's interesting that one exclusively sees the "ambition" canard used in reference to females. We never hear about Edwards' or Gore's or Obama's 'ambition'. Only about Hillary Clinton's. And now Condi Rice's. Why is that I wonder?
Posted by snark
Well, if this particular post even mentioned the names you cite, I would speak to your point. In that the post does not mention anyone except Dr. Rice, then her role in the administration is the subject of my comment.
Of course, all the names you cite have "ambitions" - so do I (you too possibly). The real difference though is Dr. Rice's ambition has cost the lives of 3800+ soldiers, 100,000+ Iraqi lives, 1/2 trillion dollars, the ruination of our once proud country, the lack of moral authority around the globe, almost universal disrespect of our country, an imperial president, possibility of WWIII on the horizon, no diplomatic solutions being considered, etc, etc, etc...I hope that clears up your confusion.
Posted by Tom at October 24, 2007 02:07 PMThe real difference though is Dr. Rice's ambition has cost the lives of 3800+ soldiers, 100,000+ Iraqi lives...
My goodness! One woman's ambition caused all those things?? And all this time I thought it was the horrendous decisions of a cabal of greedy, mean-spirited men bent on world domination is what brought all this chaos and destruction.
Tom, the point is, ambition in men is just fine, expected, even. But when the word is applied to a woman, it's almost always meant in a derogatory way; ambition is unseemly, unfeminine, and in Condi's case, according to you, it's deadly.
Dr Rice was (is) part and parcel of that entire fiasco. She has part ownership in the whole thing. I don't know the difference between the sexes vis a vis "Ambition". Hillary is ambitious and Gore is ambitious. Dr Rice represents the State department. She could have used her position and "ambition" to more thoughtfully consider what the consequences of the invasion would be - but she didn't. She blindly followed along behind our king and did what she was told. The statistics I cite are charged to the Bush administration, and they are diplomatic failures of monumental proportions.
My point was and is that Dr Rice was chosen for the position not on her knowledge or background, but on the appearance of inclusion. IMHO a position such as hers should have gone to somebody with an inate awareness of the region (ME). As it is, all we talk about are her shoes.
Posted by Tom at October 24, 2007 03:31 PMSomeone take the shovel away from him.
Posted by snark at October 24, 2007 04:00 PMTom, if you've been reading around here for awhile, when it comes to Condi, we talk about a lot more than her shoes.
Posted by Steve Soto at October 24, 2007 04:08 PM"Earlier this week, the NYT told us that Condi has no idea what happened to $1.2 billion of taxpayer money that State shoveled at private security firms..."
It was re-routed through a Chinese middleman to dishwashers, cooks, and day laborers in NYC's Chinatown to be bundled as campaign contributions to Hillary Clinton....
Karl Rove is behind this....he must be....its diabolical!
Posted by Bagley at October 24, 2007 04:29 PMIMHO a position such as hers should have gone to somebody with an inate awareness of the region (ME).
ME? You mean you? Did you submit your resume?
Seriously though, how does one come to posess an 'innate' awareness of the Middle East? And if one's awareness of the Middle East is 'innate' wouldn't one's educational background be irrelevant in determining whether one was qualified to deal with the region? She could be a Soviet scholar and still possess an 'innate' understanding of the Middle East, no?
Posted by snark at October 24, 2007 06:40 PM