Thursday, January 15, 2009

Unrepentant


U.S. President George W. Bush stands with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the ceremony to commemorate foreign policy achievements at the State Department in Washington January 15, 2009. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)


We're getting down to the last photo-ops, folks, so it's busy, busy, busy for Condi! I love that Reuters sent Sparklefave Yuri Gripas to cover, for old time's sake, this farewell Bush 'n' Condi variety hour. Look at those two: thrilled to be in each other's company, and putting on a hilariously unconvincing dog 'n' pony show about their, um, incredibly successful foreign policy achievements.

So, OK, the speech by Condi was... OMG, hilarious. Seriously, you won't believe it. She starts the whole thing off by totally sucking up to Laura Bush, which is weird. But then she gets to her beloved, and, well, sometimes words are just barely enough:

Mr. President, the Office of the Presidency may change hands next week. But this mission, the support of human dignity and human liberty, will endure, for it is as old as America itself.

Over the past eight years, these principles have guided our diplomacy through the fog of events that were often without precedent, and for which there was no reliable compass – except, of course, the North Star of commitment to an unwavering belief in the power of freedom.


Whoah, America's Princess Diplomat really has her tongue wedged way, WAY up the place where freedom's power reigns. Oh, and history? Her beloved needn't worry:

History, Mr. President, has a way of playing a little trick on human memory. As the din of debate and argument fades, things that were once thought to be impossible are remembered years later as, well, inevitable. That is why, Mr. President, history’s judgment is rarely the same as today’s headlines.


Hey, a little subtle press-bashing, all gently done in Dr. Ferragamo's patented "lots of words but meaning cloudy" style. Well done, Condi! And then came the fabulous parting gift:

And so today, Mr. President, it is my pleasure, on behalf of the men and women of the Department of State, to present you with a commemoration of the NATO enlargement that you led.

(Commemorative plaque is presented.)

(Applause.)



(AP)


And get this: moments later, she gave him... another commemorative plaque! Her other photo-op of the day was signing a meaningless agreement with a superswarthy guy from the UAE:


Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, shakes hands with United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, left, after a signing an agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)


Yay for peaceful nuclear use! Hooray!

So what'll Condi do tomorrow? One final Matching Armchairs Photo-Op™, please? More Condicising?

6 comments:

jterry said...

Well that would certainly make anyone's stomach turn. Thanks, PSP!

Anonymous said...

I think she should stop with the Sheikh. It might not be going out with a bang, but at least it's going out with a hottie. And if she only understood the mechanics of it, she could go out banging the hottie.

Karen Zipdrive said...

NATO enlargement?
What? A plaque that can make you larger?
Who would have believed, a plaque that can make you larger?

justlovely said...

I love the photo with Laura in the background. There she is, just sitting there all by herself, clapping at nothing.

Matthew Hubbard said...

"Mr. President, the Office of the Presidency may change hands next week."

Bitch, it WILL change hands next week or I will start pricing handguns.

Anonymous said...

"Over the past eight years, these principles have guided our diplomacy through the fog of events that were often without precedent, and for which there was no reliable compass – except, of course, the North Star of commitment to an unwavering belief in the power of freedom."

Illuminati drivel.