...This one F'ing hurts

[Hutzpa]

hurts real bad. I just wished she had stood her ground.

No words.

[liberalmuse]

1. I respect her decision.

Yes, it sucks that in a sense, the bully McCain appears to have "won" this round, but fuck him. Too many good men died in Viet Nam, but he's still breathing. Life is not fair. And it doesn't always go the way we want it to. I have no doubt that President Obama will pick a qualified candidate.

[Hutzpa]

3. I don't think the attack on her came from the republicans alone

I believe democrats are involved too, for some reason there are those within the party that does not wish to see her in that position.

This really sucks.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

2. They haven't won shit.

We just won a presidential election, hello?!

Democrats annihilated their pathetic excuse for a party and they're shooting
spitballs. Obama is juggling a hundred balls and Dr. Rice made the decision in
the best interest of the party this was one less battle to fight when we have a
war to win. I commend her for her decision and I have complete faith Obama
will be rubbing McCain's face in the dirt very soon just as he did in 2008.

[Hutzpa]

4. It is conceivable to know that the republicans

have not won this by a long short, I'm just amazed at the fact that the president accepted her withdrawal after coming out in defense of her, Susan Rice should have been given her chance to fight their smear campaign.

My displeasure in all of this is since the president is unable to appoint his first choice, it is beginning to look like their (republicans) game plan is to prevent this president from making his first choice, this has been a game plan all along and frankly I'm pissed that those who should be overseeing this is neglecting this fact.

[Texin]

10. We don't know that she was indeed his first choice.

The rethugs were the ones that jumped on the Rice "all but done deal as Obama's pick for SOS" thing the first rattle out of the bucket. I think he told them to back the hell off her because they were preemptively assaulting her before anyone had any legitimate idea about who he was leaning towards. All indications were back in the late summer and early fall that the job was Kerry's if he wanted it. I think Obama defended her because she wasn't responsible for what happened in Benghazi. I believe they baited him into that position and he rose to the bait. Their criticisms weren't ever really about Rice IMO. It was to bait him into taking a stand about her, knowing full well he hadn't made up his mind about whom to nominate yet. He had to stand and defend her or look weak. Unfortunately, by standing and defending her, he put himself in the awkward position in future of appearing as if he waffled on her as his choice if he chose to name someone else - even if she was never going to be the nominee in the first place!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. She was his first choice? There was no indication that she was his first choice?

She was never nominated. She was on the shortlist. The Republicans went after her on that list.

[lillypaddle]

14. you

are always the voice of reason.

[union_maid]

7. +1 n/t

[Cracklin Charlie]

5. We won.

I understand that you wanted to see Ambassador Rice in this position, which she is impeccably qualified to hold...so did I. I have no doubt that she is, and will remain, a very close adviser to the President. That's the good part.

But just think how the Republicans would have used her nomination as a means to spend hours and hours on the teevee carping about her lack of ability, and whatever made-up obstruction they could use against her; and, by extension, the President. We would have had wall to wall coverage of what a terrible choice she was for weeks, if not months. A Rice nomination would have filled the FOX schedule all the way through any confirmation vote.

Maybe the President, and Ms. Rice, floated her name as a possible nominee, as a way to get the GOP to publicly blow off their head of steam, before the real nominee's name was ever brought to the forefront.

[genna]

6. We will have that chance anyway. The Senate only confirmed 47ish % of his first term nominees

What do you think they've been doing to Obama already?

A delayed fight is still a fight.

She didn't bow out. She was pushed.

[politicaljunkie41910]

8. What does winning mean to you if you still act like a doormat?

Susan Rice was thoroughly qualified for the position so the rethuglicans would have "used her nomination as a means to spend hours and hours on the teevee carping about her lack of ability, and whatever made-up obstruction they could use against her" at their own peril. Perhaps they would have thought twice about beating up on Rice over talking points given to her by the CIA if the President would have taken the fight to them and not just talked tough and not backed it up. If this President hasn't learned from the past four years he is doomed to repeat the past 4 years.

Susan Rice was not just a possible nominee; she was the President's first choice for the position. Concilliatory Obama has still not learned how to play their game and continues to throw good people under the bus at his peril. This would have been the perfect time to assert his authority and show some toughness and not just talk pretend toughness; and he failed miserably. Don't think that his capitulation went unnoticed by the rethuglicans. The sad fact is that the GOP was a flailing party in disarray and President Obama had a perfect opportunity to push them back further on their heels in retreat by pushing back and calling them out on the BS and he didn't. Instead he emboldened them. So they won, and he lost. And that will be the playbook for the next 4 years.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

12. Please provide evidence that Susan Rice was his top choice. There's no evidence of that.

She was on the shortlist. That is all. The Repukes saw an opportunity and went after her. She was never nominated.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

9. This suggestion is not out of the realm of

possibility. If we were post inauguration I may be willing to question
more of the unknowns surrounding this situation, but given we are not,
I'm going to let this play out the way the administration decides it needs
to. Nor am I going to run with the perception that Obama is setting a
dangerous president for his second term. With everything going on
Internationally and domestically, we just can't afford for the repukes
to turn this into the media circus distraction they were hoping for.

[Bucky]

13. Maybe if she'd "stood her ground" in the Floridian sense of the word, they'd've respected her more.

Confirmation hearing can be a real knife fight. McCain was just warming up with that Bengazi shtick. I think Rice should've brought a gun and forced some goddamn civility on those barbarian--old school diplomacy.