Is Condi ready for prime time or better yet....

[Wetzelbill]

is she actually even a player?

I wonder because now that she outmaneuvered Rummy and the power to get Iraq up to speed is now moving to the NSC from the Pentagon is she now going to be something other than Bush's babysitter?

Looking at all major policy undertakings -again PNAC dominated- Condi has not been a player these last few years despite her close relationship with Dubya. Sure, she's visible, yet she hardly wields the influence that the Wolfowitz-Perle cabal does. So what do the rest of you think?

[trotsky]

1. I think she's being set up to take the fall for Iraq.

I don't know why, it's just a feeling I have. Let's face it, it will be a lot easier for the Repub party to accept the "fact" that a black woman made a mistake than a rich white man.

[Wetzelbill]

2. Sad to think that this is a viable scenario

You very well could be right. I certainly tend to agree with you.

I also think having Powell stand up in front of the U.N. last year was another shot at pinning any discrepancies on a black person. However, Powell weeded out a good portion of the lies and ended up spewing half as much bullshit as they wanted him too. Rice and Powell really are pretty expendable to these guys. Have been from the beginning too.

[MCVet]

3. She's being groomed.

She will one day be a power to be reckoned with.

Normally I would go on and on about how incompetent and inexperienced she is.
But that's just spin and manipulation aimed at the ignorant.

In reality....

She's sharp.
She's smart.
She's fluent in Russian.
She's a concert pianist.
She was provost of Stanford.
She's VERY experienced with foreign policy.
She's a woman.
She's a black woman.
She's a republican.

Pretending she's not a player just guarantees that we will one day be blindsided by her candidacy.
She's already mentioned a desire to run for Governor of Cali.
Imagine if Cheney drops from the ticket....

[BikeDeck]

6. She should not be underestimated

Those who underestimate her and call her "stuipid", "an idiot", "not intelligent" and belittle her are making a huge mistake.

[NeonLX]

11. I think they are positioning her to be the VP candidate

For the 2004 election. Cheney's gonna drop out because of the bum ticker and they'll run Condi alongside the Chimpster. It will be a win-win for the repigs. They will gain a large number of crossover votes from "moderate" African-Americans and women.

[Wetzelbill]

13. She's a sharp lady that's for sure

I am a great admirer of Rice's intellect and expertise in the former Soviet Union. However, don't expect the Good Ol' Boys to embrace a black woman for any type of real power. She's good window dressing because of her gender and race to the Repugs, but not one bit of policy has her blueprint on it. For a good portion of 2002 and early '03 Condi was nowwhere to be found. As of now, she isn't really a player. Not as far as the PNAC cabal is concerned. Although, she is useful and expendable. They would rather lose her than Feith or even Hadley, which explains why nobody called to have Stephen resign a few months ago during the "16 words" uproar. Condi is an easy target especially in the Straussian sense where her PNACer underlings at NSC are considered more vital than her. In the context of the whole process Condi has bee lost at sea...until now that is. What remains to be seen is if Bush somehow asserts himself- over Cheney et al- and gives Condi some real influence. That would require a total Rummy meltdown followed by a Wolfie-Perle one too.

[MCVet]

15. The quest for eternal power...

...makes strange partnerships.

So long as there's an (r) after her name, there are many who will support her.
Just as there are many who will support her based solely on her gender, and her race.

...and get ready for some reversed roles.
If you criticize her, you're a racist.
White Democrats will be mute, they'll rely on the CBC.

[msmcghee]

16. Do you think any of the policy coming out of this administration . .

. . has dubya's prints on it?

The PNAC will be running things no matter who the memetic figureheads are.

[Wetzelbill]

19. it would take nothing short of a miracle to get Bush free of the PNAC hold

[msmcghee]

21. You're right . .

. . he would not exist as a political entity without them.

Just like he would never have existed in business without the recurrent backing of his father's rich friends.

[karlschneider]

14. Several of the qualities you listed were shared by Adolph Hitler.

:eyes:

[fob]

24. Please provide some proof to back up any of these statements

She's sharp.
How exactly? Isn't she the one who said "There's no way we could have known people would use planes as bombs" (paraphrased by me) This is also the same person who was told by Sandy Berger that she would be spending more time on OBL than anything else

She's smart.
See above

She's fluent in Russian.
Very helpful if this was 1982

She's a concert pianist.
And...

She was provost of Stanford.
Please provide some of her most outstanding achievments while in this position.

She's VERY experienced with foreign policy.
See "She's Sharp" reply

[freethought]

5. You could be right!

In practical terms the move makes no sense. How exaclty is the NSC better equipped to handle the Iraqi reconstruction than the Pentagon?
Beat's me.
If this blows up in our face, and it might. Soldiers will start getting killed by the dozens. The Baron could simply say it's Condi's fault.
I don't understand Condi Rice. How can she look at herself in a mirror? Did she want to be in the neocon men's club that badly?
I still think she should get a boyfriend. She might be a good deal happier.

[Avalux]

8. Happier?

Condi is an "it". It gave up it's claim to womanhood by selling it's soul to the neocons. It is a heartless, souless, emotionless shell of what may have at one time been a real woman. But now will, without a shred of remorse, lie, cheat and steal with the best of 'em. It may be even more dangerous than they are.

[MCVet]

9. Beware of blinding yourself so....

She's no "it".

If we demonize her (them), and deify US, we will lose touch with reality.
We won't be able to put together a decent defense.

Know yourself, know your enemy........

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[hedda_foil]

4. One of the major reasons for putting Sleezaleeza nominally in charge

emerged in the House Appropriations Committee hearings today. She is NOT accountable to Congress and does not have to testify about what's going on in Iraq and what the appropriated funds are for.

[freethought]

7. But the administration needs to keep

friendly with congress. There is already tension between Bush and his congressional alies, they aren't as willing to do what Bush wants them to do just because the White House demands it.

Put Condi in charge and Bush has told Congress to go 'strick it'!
That will go over really well(sarcasm).

[msmcghee]

12. I have no doubt that if the dems are successful . .

. . removing more of Bush's'* sheen before the election, she would make a perfect foil to keep the pukes/PNAC in power. Her running in the puke VP slot would possibly be a more powerful candidacy (meme-wise) than Clark in our presidential slot.

i.e our most powerful memetic associations are as a champion for womens values and for blacks and minorities. The pukes would rightly say to America, "The dems talk a lot about supporting women and minorities, but which party actually runs women and blacks on their national ticket?"

[Wetzelbill]

17. Bush would get obliterated in the South with a black woman on his ticket

[msmcghee]

18. Do you really think so?

I think many southern white males would see it as perfect irony.

[Wetzelbill]

20. Rove's dirty tricks regarding McCain's Bangledeshi daughter

gives us the notion of ignorance against minorities in the South. This is not to say that everybody thinks like that, but enough do to seriously hurt him were she to be his VP.

[msmcghee]

22. You could be right.

I lived in the south when I was young. And I've been back a few times on extended business. My sense it could be seen as a inside joke - especially if southern newspapers handle it cleverly enough.

They could be seen as supporting blacks (who have majorities in some areas like Atlanta) while actually supporting conservative control of America.

[Wetzelbill]

23. yeah that is valid too

the proper angle could work wonders too.