Dick Cheney(L), Defense Secretary Robert Gates(2nd-L), Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice(2nd-R) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Peter Pace(R) at the President's Crawford, Texas, ranch. Bush met with top national security aides as he drew closer to unveiling a new strategy for Iraq, as ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's execution loomed. Photo:Tim Sloan/AFPDr. Ferragamo is probably wise to keep her flower protected amongst such a virile, randy crowd, especially notorious lothario Peter Pace. I agree with the White House correspondent who pointed this picture out to me (what can I say? Pony Pals™ are moving up in the world!) that her sweater set is totally cute.
But anyway, she's lucky to be hanging out in Texas so that she can miss all that BORING Gerald Ford stuff, and also so that she can be in a newspaper-free environment. Yes, after years of pointless Condi profiles in which we learn, over and over again, about her upbringing, her fashion choices, her dream job of being NFL Commissioner, her non-aspirations toward the presidency, some enterprising journalist finally thought long enough to write the unthinkable: a scorecard of her diplomatic achievements. And it ain't pretty:
"Great secretaries of state have compelling views of the world and/or are effective negotiators -- Secretary Rice has so far demonstrated neither," said Aaron Miller, who advised six secretaries of state before joining the Woodrow Wilson Center think tank in Washington.Uh, oh. Well, surely her bestest buddies, those adorable kids at the American Enterprise Institute, must have nicer things to say about her. Well, barely:
"I don't know that there have been concrete advances" under Rice's diplomacy, said Joshua Muravchik of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, though he nevertheless went on to give her "high grades" for faithfully implementing Bush's policy agenda.OK, so that's not exactly singing her praises from the rooftops, but she gets high points for obedience! So what's Condi to do to rescue her reputation? It's simple, really:
Rice's best shot at achieving a major success in her remaining time as secretary of state is likely to focus on the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace process.So that's it: she merely needs to solve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Good luck with that!
UPDATE: Thank goodness for Bush advisor Fran Townsend, who reminds us that a failure is simply "a success that hasn't occurred yet." Take that, pessimists!
14 comments:
the bush legacy is already written, proofed and ready to print. what they are focusing on now, really the last straw to grasp, is making first contact with teh aliens from another galaxy, that's about the only thing that could knock the main story line of blundering idiot child gone awry from the top spot in the history of this administration.
The tragedy is that this petite bourgeoise reflects the mediocrity of her boss: neither is interested in ideas, all they lavish is power. Herstory will not treat "Dr" Rice kindly -- nor should she.
Is it just me or is Madame Secretary showing a bit more junk in her trunk than usual?
Obviously this is casual Friday; no ties for the guys, gals get to wear slacks.
She is assuming the body language of Dick Cheney, who she cruelly ignored in other photos on this blog earlier this month. Because Dick is more... full-figured, the arms clasped at the wrists in front give meet well above the waist. Condi, slimmer and longer-armed, looks like a soccer player in the wall, waiting for an opposing free kick.
So her legacy rests on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, does it? I recall when Clinton and Madcap Maddie Albright tried to make some progress on that at the end of his term, conservatives were openly derisive of the effort and the results.
...And don't they all look happy? Clearly a busy, productive smart-casual day.
Peter Pace has exactly the look of Joan Crawford in most of her stills from Strait Jacket - you know, the one where she may or may not be an axe murderer.
But the burning (or at least the itching) question: why is Dr. F. the only one of the group apparently braced against a strong wind?
Dear Friends,
Can you imagine a bunch of less sinister thugs than that group?
Cry, cry, the beloved country...
It's so nice that they let Robert Gates come, since he is so clearly not in the loop... but then, maybe he's there for a play date with Condi.
Pony Pals, your wit always delights! Another coffee-up-the-nose morning indeed.
The 'firsts' that our Secretary of Defensiveness has had to face are pretty overwhelming:
---First black woman SOS
---First fashion queen SOS
---First policy-free SOS
---First Klingon SOS
---First gap-toothed-woman SOS
---First 'hammering the President's Johnson SOS
---First clueless as all f**k SOS
---First foot fetishist SOS
I'd give her a break, but her job is more important than training young minds in double speak at Stanford.
The thought of this intellectual fraud teaching the young at Stanford repels me.
Just take a look at her appallingly dreadful "book,"The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army, 1948-1983 (Princeton U Press, 1984), with its brilliant "conclusion": "[T]hirty-five years after its creation, the Czechoslovak People's Army stands suspended between the Czechoslovak nation and the socialist world order." As for her other opus, Germany Unified and Europe Transformed (1995), which she co-authored with Philip Zelikow (his name appears first), please note what is stated in the preface: "Zelikow drafted the original manuscript," which to me is academic jargon for saying that he (Zelikow) actually wrote the book...
It is not well known that "Dr" Rice has, in fact, only one book to her full credit, her totally inept effort, cited above, on that all-important, crucial, earth-shattering topic ... the Czechoslovak military, a very minor institution (all but fogotten, for good reason, by history) of a nation that no longer exists...
Has she just been skipping her haircut/stylist time or is the flip trying to make a comeback?!
Dear god I hope it's the flip!
Peter Pace is wearing an invisible ascot. I can just SENSE it. It's red with little embroidered gold horseshoes. He also has a riding crop in his right hand which is another reason Condi is protecting her chastity belt.
While the dear little Miss is protecting her ladyparts for her own true love, does anyone notice that always, whether she is standing or walking, she has her back arched so her rear is pushed out in hopes of stimulating a pat or grab or at the very least some admiration!
Baby got back!
All these matters have been noted, but I can't help but comment! Wowwa... poor posture, little pooch in the lower abs(what has become of her condi-size activity???) and such a sour expression. And Lordy... Peter Pace peers peevishly! The whole photo just makes me want to vomit!
Franonymous
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