How well could you work under these conditions?
I respect Rice as a person, but she would have to be a Superwoman to succeed at the job of SoS. And superwomen don’t exist any more than supermen.

Can’t they just begin from that position, since it is the enemy’s position?

What is to send ‘humanitarian’ funds to or negotiate with?

They use the former for buying weapons and the later for gaining time to plot new attacks.

If they would just say: “There can be no peace until Muslims accept that neither we nor the Israelis will agree to being dominated by Islam.” at least the enemy would know we understand them.

You can read updates on the “Draft Condi” movement here and here:. We are still going strong, but money always helps.

By the way, she never took the Sherman oath. She told Katie Couric that elected office “probably” isn’t for her.
She can always change her mind if we show our support.

Not that you’ll see this…

Dusty on July 16, 2007 at 6:24 PM

Bolton’s achievements are a mixed bag too. Although he’s one fierce warrior whom I really appreciate, and who had some successes at the UN, he is one of the people who antagonized NK so much, and so deserves a partial credit for them deciding on getting nukes. (Yes, I know Clinton and that dumbass SoS of his are responsible for giving Kim the equipment, but it was Bolton that pissed Kim the most… I think NK referred to him as “human scum”)

Condi though…

You’re partially right that some of her failings in the middle east is because she’s a woman. Bush would come up with some ideas, and Condi, being perceived as weak, couldn’t defend his ideas. She was too apologetic… plus she had to fight Arab chauvenism.

The only interesting idea she had in her entire term (and I say “idea” because I don’t know how well it’s been implemented) is that the State dept. should be re-organized and make appeals to the people as opposed to the leaders of ME countries (since the leaders are not always popular).

But the negative side of that is that the leaders control the spin on everything she says anyways by virtue of controlling the media.

It is true – she hasn’t had a single achievement. The success in NK is due to some unnamed lower-level career diplomats who have been going to meetings for months… who really know the NK culture… who really know how to negotiate. And she ain’t one of them.

Christoph on July 16, 2007 at 8:44 PM

…and the dictators of Muslim nations exploit this to distract from their domestic failings.

Is there a Norrisesque fact sheet about Bolton?

Fact: There is no razor capable of cutting Bolton’s moustache. Fred Thompson once told Bolton it looked good like that, and each individual hair maintains its exact length ever since, simply out of respect.

Wasn’t Dick Morris the biggest proponant of a Condi candidicy? He viewed her as the best chance the Republicans had at countering Hillary’s percieved demographic advantages…he wrote that book. I don’t recall any others who were that excited about the possibility.

Dork B. on July 16, 2007 at 7:45 PM

Yes. And an endorsement from Dick Morris would keep me from voting for anyone.

“anyone who has the power won’t make a deal and anyone who will make a deal doesn’t have the power”

While I agree with your conclusion, I don’t agree with how you got there.

The problem is no one has the power.

Even if all the leaders signed on to peace, the rank and file Muslim street wants Israeli gone. So where does the peace come from?

The people cry, “Peace! Peace! And there is no Peace.”

Jimmah would have better employed his time by watching it instead of brokering a “peace deal” that brought both more war and the assassination of both the other signers, namely Anwar el-Sadat and Menachim Begin.

Sadat let key members of the Muslim Brotherhood out of prison, including Zawarhiri, for sentimental reasons. He was naive. I’m not used to defending Jimmy Carter but that peace was a good thing. Musharaff is making the same mistakes Sadat did, not rolling up the Islamist elements that threaten to destroy him.

There are a few diplomatic victories during Bush’s term(s): the Orange and Velvet revolutions, NK giving up its nukes…

The Velvet Revolution was in 1989. I think you mean the Cedar Revolution. Also Gaddafi giving up on his nuclear weapons program to add to your list.

I think that Bolton would be an excellent Secretary of State.

FloatingRock on July 16, 2007 at 5:22 PM

My thoughts exactly. As Secretary of State he would have been far more effective than as U.N. Ambassador, IMO.

“The six years she’s had this job” started when Powell resigned.

bdfaith on July 16, 2007 at 6:30 PM

Uhm… Powell left office on January 26, 2005. Not that silly things like facts matter, but it hasn’t been six years yet; it won’t even be six years at the end of her services as Sec o’ State.

I don’t think it’s fair to say “what has Condi done?”…It’s more what she hasn’t done, a la Madeline Albright/North Korea. Public Service as a cabinet member…it’s not about any “legacy”. And for sure Condi would make a great President, but she’s always been clear she doesn’t want the job.
JetBoy on July 16, 2007 at 6:26 PM

Let me get this straight: she’s not Madeline Albright, and she served in the cabinet, so she would make a good president.

Okey-dokey.

Jimmah would have better employed his time by watching it instead of brokering a “peace deal” that brought both more war and the assassination of both the other signers, namely Anwar el-Sadat and Menachim Begin.

No, that was Yitzhak Rabin.