Condi Rice - an inadequate, arrogant, little girl

[ChairmanAgnostic]

Not surprising that Bush surrounds himself with sycophants, nor is it surprising that they are spectacularly incompetent in their chosen positions.

When you have the chance, study Condi Rice's speech habits. There is a familiar cadence, a rhythm which is most telling. Even when she reads from prepared documents, the delivery is like this:


"after a great deal of research and study, we - - - - - - ah - - - - concur that north korea - - - - ah - - - is a threat."
"Saddam had plenty of chances to - - - - - - ah - - - - - - prove - - - - ah - - - - that he did not have -----ah-----weapons of mass destruction."

I have seen similar patterns when judging trial advocacy classes for a local law school. Those unprepared, unread, and unfamiliar with the topic seem to try a statement, hoping that they would not be challanged, then, continue on. Their lack of knowledge is transparently obvious. Same with Condi.

She has no confidence in her judgements (rightly so), yet she plays the role of a know-it-all. Unfortunately, while this might play in Peoria, on the world stage, she has earned the reputation of being dumb, shallow, a water-carrier for Bush and Cheney and utterly out of her league on subtle, difficult and complex issues. She can lecture with the best of them, but as for intelligent discussions between professionals, she has no capacity, experience or ability to talk the talk or walk the walk.

Worst of all, she represents all things American to the rest of the world. Together with Karen Hughes, our nation could not be more poorly served even if we tried to destroy global diplomacy.

[MADem]

1. There is no way that the written word can convey that obnoxious

QUAVER in her voice. It simply does not inspire confidence.

She sounds like a Seventh Grader who has to present a science project, and didn't do the homework, so she went out to the supermarket two days before the project was due and bought two plants--one healthy, and one half dead, and is doing the tired project where ya stick one plant on the windowsill, the other in the closet!

[TimeToGo]

3. Now wait a minute . . .

She sounds like a Seventh Grader who has to present a science project, and didn't do the homework, so she went out to the supermarket two days before the project was due and bought two plants--one healthy, and one half dead, and is doing the tired project where ya stick one plant on the windowsill, the other in the closet!

Hey! That's my science fair project you're talking about!

[mwb970]

6. I am sick of the quaver too.

I hate listening to her. The quaver and the pauses, the schoolgirl aura (similar to the schoolboy aura around Bush), the combination of arrogance and tentativeness, each undermining the other - she's too much for me.

Who exactly thinks Condi is a serious contender for the presidency? How low is that bar?

[Loge23]

2. "The worst NSA director in history"

From a former top CIA official as quoted in "State of War" by James Risen. Another former NSC staffer adds: "Condi was a very, very weak national security advisor".
Knows her shoes though.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. never forget Iraq. She was supervising reconstruction when Paul Bremer

was tasked with the job of cleaning up after Rummie's generals.
we know how well that went.

Funny how people forget her role in reconstruction. And worse, how deadly her inept approach has been to Iraqis and US troops.

Condi Rice is a walking, talking, strutting, disaster area. If Doug Adams were still alive, he'd name a cosmic rock band after her.

[tanyev]

5. Hey, if I could afford shoes like hers I might strut a little bit, too.

[PA Democrat]

15. James Risen's book provides a lot of factual support for that

assessment. Both Rummy and Cheney rode roughshod over Condi and she did nothing to defend her turf, letting those 2 PNAC's wackos set the nation's national security agenda.

[Fridays Child]

7. They're all one-trick ponies.

Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Cheney. All of them.

[leveymg]

17. They've reached the end of their usefulness, all of them.

They're being led into the van that says, "ACME Meat Packing"

[leveymg]

8. Can someone explain why she was picked by Poppy and Scowcroft?

Is it simply that she's loyal and can be counted on to do the dirty-work without complaint or risk of leakage? Does this overarching loyalty have to do with her insecurity as a Black Woman operating within a white male power structure? Is part of this dynamic also true for Powell? For Hughes?

Others may flame me, but I think all three underneith their sense of duty understand the moral implications of their actions, and will eventually turn on their mentors, if indeed they haven't already done so.

If there's anyone who really can produce the goods on Dubya, enough to get him locked up, it's Condi.

[July]

18. I don't have that much optimism about their moral understanding.

They've known from the beginning how much lying and cheating they've endorsed, supported, and participated in. They've had lots of opportunities to bring reality back to government, but they keep shilling. I don't hold out much hope that any of the three will deal with their part in immoral and criminal actions taken by this government. They seem quite comfortable having blood on their hands.

[leveymg]

23. Everyone with a conscience has their break point, as Fitz knows.

Condi will hold on for a long time. She's loyal and willing to lie for the team -- that's why she still has her job. But, when she does finally realize that the game's over, she'll have a hell of a story to tell.

And, I think, when Fitz decides its time to go after the top-tier defendants, he'll give Condi one last chance to tell it to the Grand Jury rather than go to prison. I think she'll spill the beans.

[July]

28. But is that "morality" or just ass-covering?

And what about Powell? He's diminished his standing in many people's eyes, and yet he remains fairly loyal to Bush and pals. He could have shut down the whole Iraq war debacle and saved the troops his previous war policy put at the top of his priorities.

I don't know if I'm right, but I tend to think that Condi will talk only if she has to, not because it's the right thing to do. If I'd seen any signs of integrity in her up to now, I might think otherwise, but she has been vigorous in her efforts to lie for Bush.

But I hope you're right and she spills, no matter what the reason.

9. It is the way Condi and others in the administration try to come off

as morally superior and giving ultimatums and warnings on how to behave to other countries that is a big joke to me. Like mafioso giving out lectures on moral behavior.

[90-percent]

10. the most galling statement of hers

Was after 9/11 stating that "nobody could have envisioned terrorists using commercial airplanes as missiles"

paraphrasing, can't remember the exact words.

This is the "failure of imagination" the 9/11 Whitewash Commission had in the back of their minds when they published their report.

That the National Security Adviser has never been held to account for her dereliction for allowing 9/11 is nothing short of amazing.

This is the OJT Admin for incompetents!

-85% Jimmy

[ChairmanAgnostic]

11. my vote goes to smoking gun - mushroom cloud.

you just KNOW that they had speachwriters working on that for hours. Of course, Bush, Cheney and wolfie all parroted it after she read it.

[July]

19. That was such an unbelievably arrogant move.

I don't know how she even got the words out.

[leveymg]

13. Yet, she has a passive-aggressive way of telling the truth.

She said something very interesting during the public 9/11 Commission hearings in April 2004. She let it slip that there was a Principals Meeting scheduled for September 12th to roll out the Bush Administration's own, brand spanking new program against terrorism. She didn't mention him, but that's the reason that Pakistani ISI General Mohamed was in Washington on 9/11.

I don't think anyone other than Richard Clarke ever made reference to the Bush Administration's plans for a new initiative. It tells me a lot about why Dubya did nothing to order the UBL cells rolled up when he got his 08/06 PDB warning about planned hijackings, attacks on high visibility targets in NYC and DC, and 80 al-Qaeda cells operating inside the US. It was a political decision - they wanted credit for getting Osama -- they couldn't bear the thought that Clinton's programs would get any credit -- but bin Laden heard about the plan through his sources in Saudi and Pakistani intelligence, and got the jump on them. Of course, there were others watching the moves of both sides.

[warrens]

12. She always sounds like she's about to start crying in frustration

"Why won't you idiots believe my lies? How DARE you challenge my disinformation?!"

[ChairmanAgnostic]

14. how true - fragile, almost on the verge of a breakdown

But that know-it-all attitude on sonday morning shows is even worse. NO, not true. What is worse is never has any talking head seen fit to call her on her multiple mistruths.

[WinkyDink]

16. Perhaps the quaver is one of barely suppressed rage at having to speak to

ANYone other than her husb....Bush.

[VaYallaDawg]

22. That's exactly the way to describe her affect!!!

I had been wracking my brain to think of what is behind that odd persona she presents, and you hit on exactly the right word in "fragile."

[Armstead]

26. Perfect summary of her tone

[tanyev]

34. She's the evil version of Mary Tyler Moore.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

35. oh, man, that is gooood.

But mary never was into tight leather.

[MurrayDelph]

20. She's pouty, petulant, contemptuous, and incompetent

No wonder she gets on so well with W.

[Generic Other]

21. This is called prevarication: mofo liar speak

"Saddam had plenty of chances to - - - - - - ah - - - - - - prove - - - - ah - - - - that he did not have -----ah-----weapons of mass destruction."

prevarication: "The act of prevaricating, shuffling, or quibbling, to evade the truth or the disclosure of truth; a deviation from the truth and fair dealing." Answer.com

[ProfessorGAC]

24. It's Not Just Speaking Patterns

I had a copy of her dissertation. It's a good thing for her i was not on the challenge board. It's pedestrian, the writing is 10th grade quality, the conclusions are weak and in some cases specious, and the concepts are wholly unoriginal. It's potentially worthy of a 3rd year undergrad, but it's certainly not impressive work for a Ph.D. thesis.

She's dumber than dirt, and has leveraged her gender and color into the big-time business and political world by being willing to play the token "black woman" and then aligned herself with the very people who oppose the social structures that helped her get ahead.

She's a complete tool and an utter fool.
The Professor

[leveymg]

30. Is that dissertation available on-line?

I looked and found a review that panned her dissertation when it was published as a book. The review, In: American Historical Review: vol. 90, no. 5, p. 1236 <1985>03: http://archiv.vulgo.net/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=1102

Condoleezza Rice - The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army

Joseph Kalvoda**


To write a scholarly study on the relationship of the Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak army without access to relevant Czechoslovak and Soviet documents is difficult. Therefore, much of this book by Condoleezza Rice is based on secondary works. His thesis is that the Soviets directly influence military elites in the satellite countries, in addition to the Soviet Communist party interacting with the domestic party. Rice selects Czechoslovakia as a case study and attempts to show the role of the military as instrument of both national defense and the Soviet-controlled military alliance.


Rice's selection of sources raises questions, since he frequently does not sift facts from propaganda and valid information from disinformation or misinformation. He passes judgments and expresses opinions without adequate knowledge of facts. It does not add to his credibility when he uses a source written by Josef Hodic; Rice fails to notice that this "former military scientist" (p. 99) was a communist agent who returned to Czechoslovakia several years ago. Rice based his discussion of the "Sejna affair" (pp. 111, 116, 144) largely on communist propaganda sources and did not consult writings and statements by former General Jan Sejna who had access to Warsaw Pact documents and is the highest military officer from the Soviet bloc to defect to the West since World War II.


Rice's generalizations reflect his lack of knowledge about history and the nationality problem in Czechoslovakia. For example, in 1955 Czechoslovakia was not yet "the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (pp 83, 84). In May 1938 Ludvik Svoboda was serving in the Czech army, not organizing a Czech military unit in Poland. In the fall of 1939 he was captured by the Soviet invading forces in eastern Poland; he did not " to the USSR" (p. 43). Rice_s discussion of the "Czechoslovak Legion" that was "born during the chaotic period preceding the fall of the Russian empire" (pp. 44-46) is ridiculous. (It was "born" on September 28, 1914.) He is clearly ignorant of the history of the military unit as well as of the geography of the area on which it fought.


Rice claims that "Czechoslovaks are supposedly passive and consider r

SNIP

[ProfessorGAC]

32. I Do Not Know

I got it second hand through a college library mutual distribution network. Actually, i guess that would be third hand, because i was talking about her with another math teacher, and he got it through the library, and gave me a copy. This was about 3, maybe 4 years ago. I probably still have it, but not sure exactly what i did with it.

If i did what should be done with it, i would have used it for kindling. That's about the value of it.
The Professor

[stanwyck]

25. Bush was desperate to have a black female

in his administration to show people what a big tent the GOP has. Condi fit those requirements.
My complaint with her is that she serves Bush first. America second. She's a nationalist, like the rest of the Bushies. It's "my government right or wrong." NOT my country. She's so grateful to Bush to be part of his inner circle that she'll do whatever he wants.
She's got a crush.

[Ufomammut]

27. Exactly, and so obvious

"What?! Us, sexist and racist?!" The gall....

[stanwyck]

29. Plus, with not one

yes, here it is 2006, and the GOP has NOT ONE black member of Congress. So. They bring in the Condi.
She's a two-fer.

[MarmiteVarmint]

31. Actually...

...she sounds more like someone who has to give an awful lot of speeches, nearly every day a new one. That's all. This continual over-the-top makes us look rather silly...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

33. If true, what's with her "broken record" act?

When she does give speeches (and they are not daily, but rather more rare), she simply parrots the same ideas in each one.
It can be broken down into three subjects

Iraq - Iran - North Korea
Her text does not vary much within the confines of those particular issues. unfortunately, the world is slightly larger than those three countries.

What is so over the top about recognizing her to be an abject failure in every project and task assigned to her?
Remind me what a fine job she did as National Security Advisor. Oh wait. she never heard of Al Qaida, so therefore it could not have posed a danger.
OK let's ignore her total ignorance and constant screws ups leading to Sept. 11.

What of her promotion to supervise, control and direct all Iraq reconstruction efforts right after Bremer took over? Recall the lovely little intro given by George Bush, assigning her to direct reconstruction, because Rumsfeld's generals had followed his orders and screwed the pooch something awful? Her personal involvement made things worse (yes, it was possible to screw it up even more - she proved it). Yet, the media continually skipped over her responsibility yet again.

And what of her current job as Sec. State? Ah, yes, a glowing success - so much so that the Russians had to scramble to keep from having a major league embarrassment on their hands during her first visit. You see, they actually believed that she was bilingual in Russian and had planned a dog and pony in Russian, live, on TV. When they found out that it was a lie, the whole trip had to be changed. Even worse, she was so insulting (I have dear friends in government in Moscow - the stories they tell!) and uninformed that she almost caused several diplomatic rifts. She could not even understand WHY she was pissing off her hosts.

China, on the other hand, loves her, because she is so easily manipulated and controlled. They have her pegged perfectly and know just what buttons to push to get the result they want. Indonesia? Japan? South Korea? South Africa? Nigeria? France? Germany? Poland? A private talk to their diplomatic corps and your ears would burn about how they describe her.

Mind you, they loved Colin Powell and Mad. Albright because those two did not mind admitting if they did not have an answer on any point. What they did claim to know, they actually knew. Condi is in an entirely separate league - uninformed, untalented, not particularly bright and aggressive in that peculiar way that is driven by ignorance, fear of the unknown and a sense of one's own lack of ability.


Every single job she has had for this administration has been a dismal failure. Every one.
If you are so happy with Condi, please let us know of even one success based on her actions, policies and discussions. Just one. Any one.