Posts Tagged → Condaleeza Rice
Rice won’t run… or co-run
One of the best Republicans in the country still steadfastly refuses to consider running for elected office, even as someone else’s running mate. Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice, whose foreign policy expertise and broad appeal could help John McCain win back conservative report while also blunting the effect of a Hillary or Barack-fronted Democratic ticket, confirmed again this weekend she has no plans or higher poltical aspirations than to serve out her term as Secretary of State for George W. Bush and then return to the private sector.
“I have always said that the one thing that I have not seen myself doing is running for elected office,” Rice said at a news conference. “I didn’t even run for high school president. It’s sort of not in my genes.”
McCain, who is so old he needs to wear a medical id bracelet just to cross the street, could have his candidacy significantly bouyed by Rice’s inclusion on the ticket, has not confirmed whether he’s asked Rice or not, but it appears pointless. Of course, it is the fact that better-qualified candidates has sat on the sidelines this presidential year that has led to a weak, liberal Republican like McCain becoming the GOP nominee.
Book review as hit-job journalism
Under the guise of a book review, major media outlets are using the occasion of journalist Glenn Kessler’s new book, “Confidante,” to rewrite the history books on Condaleeza Rice’s service in the Bush administration.
Repeating his talking points without question, sources even as respected by conservatives as Breitbart.com are allowing Kessler’s quotes to color the tone of their book review of his tome, without raising so much as a critical eyebrow to his conclusions.
Communication is key in any venture, be it government or business and strong intranet software can help smooth things out. Did not one single editor do more than skim the book and pull relevant quotes out of it in order to meet deadline? The need for in-depth personalization and seamless back-end integration would be obvious to most.
But nothing seems to have worked for most media outlets and Kessler is able to wheeze on like so:
“She was one of the weakest national security advisors in US history. Her inexperience and her mistakes in that job have shaped the world and colored the choices she must handle as secretary of state,” Kessler, who covers US diplomacy for The Washington Post, writes in Confidante. “The invasion of Iraq, the missed opportunity with Iran, the breach in relations with Europe, the Arab anger at a perceived bias against the Palestinians — all of these problems were the direct result of decisions she helped make in the White House. Now, as secretary of state, she tried mightily — and with limited success — to unravel the Gordian knots she tied in in George W. Bush’s first term.”
I guess it’s refreshing to see some windbag journalist choose a target other than George W. Bush for a change; but Kessler’s portrayal of Rice and his conclusions about her are not above question or reproach. Whatever happened to the critical media?
