Americablog: "Condi's star fades as US policy disintegrates"

[StefanX]

The Sidney Morning Herald:

For all the razzle-dazzle of Rice's first year as Secretary of State, it is hard to think of any real and substantial achievements. Her "transformational diplomacy" in the Middle East has achieved virtually nothing. None of the region's leaders, it seems, takes her seriously. Bush's democracy project, which Rice embraced so enthusiastically, is virtually dead and buried.

And there are no good signs that any peace talks of any kind between Israel and the Palestinians are likely in the foreseeable future, despite Rice's frantic shuttle diplomacy in the region last month. Her decline mirrors the disintegration of the Bush Administration. Her biggest battle right now is to work out how she can defy a subpoena from a key congressional committee demanding she testify about how it was that the Administration, in the months before the invasion of Iraq, used a "fabricated claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger".

Perhaps that's the real reason why she has remained silent as Bush has tried in vain to sell Americans on an Iraq policy that a majority of them are convinced cannot succeed.

via Americablog

Regarding what to do about Condi's attempts to defy the subpoena, check out this DU thread:
Arrest Condi (the Senate has the power -- says so right here on senate.gov)

[partylessinOhio]

1. Oh, really? You mean Condoho will no longer challenge Hillary

for the White House?

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

If I were Pickles I'd let her have *.

[Cha]

8. Yeah, I was thinking about that

the other day when I was reading buzzflash.

I guess condiliar is no longer a threat to be pumped up by our mediawhores.

[calimary]

12. I remember seeing someone, probably on Olbermann, saying that

contradicta is one of the many overhyped, empty-headed hot air balloons that's fizzled in the bush regime. I think the comment was something to the effect of - "and nobody's talking about contradicta running for governor of California anymore, either..." At least there are increasing numbers of people awakening to the realities about her, and no longer believing the PR about her and her so-called brains.

She was overrated to start with, and little more than a nanny and a tutor and a minder of young caligula, among the many grooming him to "look" the part of a viable presidential contender. She wrote about, and got published for, some nice, high-sounding treatises about the Soviet Union, so that certainly makes her timely and relevant since the late '80's, dontcha think? Her expertise is as out-dated and valueless as she is, herself. She's nothing more than a paper doll. Why they ever thought her stale perspective was worth anything now - is a mystery to me. She's not even relevant in an historical sense, because she clearly didn't learn much from history, especially the geo-political history on which she's purportedly a much-vaunted expert.

If her star is "waning," it's not a moment too soon. THANK GOD!!! And thank God also that she's no longer being so breathlessly hyped as the next governor out here. HEAVEN FORBID!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cha]

13. Our poor corporatewhoremedia

have so little to work with..but that doesn't stop them from trying!

Yeah, I don't think she would be as friendly to your environment as gov swartzentrump.

[tblue37]

22. Doncha wish your SoS was hot like me? Doncha wish your SoS

was a freak like me?

[Warren Stupidity]

2. About that 'Condi for presidunce' thing

that was so 2005.

She'll have to take a no-show at some rightwing NGO or think-tank. Maybe she could replace wolfie at the WB and get her boyfriend George a sweet job on the side?

[calimary]

14. This is interesting, though. She HAS indeed been spoken about

as a likely presidential contender some day. If she's arrested for Contempt of Congress, it pretty much blows that out of the water.

What ELSE it blows out of the water is any realistic chance that, if - NO! WHEN cheney's impeached and removed - bush might try to name her as cheney's replacement because nobody'd dare complain or oppose it for fear of being labeled racist or sexist or both. If that WERE still realistic, it would give him cover, strategically blunt any further efforts to IMPEACH him, because he elevated her so he really can't be THAT bad, can he? Doesn't that mean that everything we said about him is wrong, then? Time would be too short to do anything about it, anyway, and, well, EVERYBODY loves dear darling little contradicta who's SO smart and SO brainy and SO experienced and has SUCH a big-ass impressive resume and HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF SAYING SOMETHING BAD ABOUT HER, you noxious racist you??? And think of the simply adorable photo ops! contradicta out there, taking THE biggest oath of office any woman OR any black would EVER have hoped to take, and waving that royal wave like Elizabeth of England. Well, THAT has now gone bye-bye. The contradicta ploy is no longer a viable option.

It seems to me that this was probably the thinking, though, at one point. Okay, fine then. Sacrifice cheney. bush nominates and of course gets confirmation for contradicta as the new VP. It gives him LOTS of "new credibility and brownie points" with black voters and women and fickle independents who suddenly find that they just really have to start changing their thinking about him, and gives him another nice notch in the history books (SIGH!!! SWOON!!! WHAT a forward-thinking, bold, decisive man he is! The FIRST pResident to have a real, honest-to-pete African American vice president, AND a female at that! OH WOW, OH WOW!!!). His polls would zoom back up again and everybody'd start hailing him as "PRESIDENT LAZARUS!!!" It's a helluva two-fer winner for him and the GOP, cosmetically, at least. It would make everybody forget about the shit he's pulled (especially since cheney's gone and it's a new day and well, that takes care of all our problems, doesn't it!), and it would transform him - no longer the millstone around miserable republi-CONs' necks as they try to rebuild their base, their sagging campaign donations, their horrible reputations, and their still-cherished dreams of a permanent majority. And it sets her up reeeeeeeeel nice and conveniently to run for president as the new and untouchable heir apparent. And nobody could dare oppose or criticize her for fear of being smeared as racist/sexist. All ballyhooed by the breathless, panting, swooning media as perhaps THE shrewdest strategery EVER. It'd turn the longstanding conventional wisdom about the GOP as patently unfriendly to minorities and women straight onto its ear - in one "masterful" stroke. And "masterful" is the word you'd hear over and over from the russerts and tweeties and wolfies and milbankses and o'donnells and anderson coopers and larry kings and all of their ilk.

It WOULD HAVE BEEN a dream-come-true for these assholes. An absolute phony, completely calculated maneuver beyond all imaginings, trumping EVERYTHING else and dominating ALL news cycles for weeks, perhaps all the way through the fall campaign and the next election (which she would purportedly win). It would IN A SINGLE STEP rehabilitate the republi-CON party for years, or at least for long enough for them to gain momentum, and maybe REGAIN the majorities on Capitol Hill.

And it's just unraveled.

[flyarm]

3. i watched Conta lie sa..this morn and i wanted to bash the tv in on her damn lies! eom

[conspirator]

4. Condi never had a star. she just picked up the dirty job that Colin Powell scrapped nt

[Richard Steele]

15. Exactly. When did she ever "shine" at anything? Never, that's when.

BTW, welcome to DU! :hi:

[KurtNYC]

18. Bingo! what "star" ?!

Or did * give her one for not reading the memo to him...

"...I believe it was entitled 'bin Laden determined to strike within the U.S." but of course even if he had read it "there was no silver bullet that could have prevented 9/11."

do they give stars for being a worthless tool?

[calimary]

20. Welcome to DU! It was her PERCEIVED star.

Perception is EVERYTHING with these people. In the OP link, after all, there was mention of the gushing about her in the media, EVERYWHERE, domestically AND internationally (her style, her hair, her ability to play some nice Bach on the piano) - fascination with her all over everywhere. LOTS of really nice PR machinery at work to promote her. So yes. there was a PERCEIVED star. Lots of kissy-kissy hype. For a whole lotta nothing. She's nothing but a cardboard cut-out. And has been that ever since she stepped onto the big stage when this whole nightmare began.

[newyawker99]

28. Hi conspirator!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. Condi's first job was to toilet train a Chimp and teach him to use a knife and fork

She didn't do that great a job prepping him to enter the civilized world and become President and it's been all downhill for her ever since.

[Disturbed]

6. Rep. Waxman needs to have her arrested or

start Impeachment Proceedings on this useless,criminal S of S.

[Cha]

10. And all the bananas in the

world couldn't teach him to say, "nuclear".

[Cha]

7. condi was all FOOL'S Gold

and anyone who was paying attention could hear her LIES and Cringe at the thought of that wasteral being our sos after she bungled her National Security job.

Edit~Hadn't john howard better sit up and stop drinking rove venom?

[oscarmitre]

25. Howard doesn't drink Rove venom

He mainlines it, it's quicker that way.

[lolly]

9. Undermined by own administration

Nobody in this administration seems to take her seriously either.

I remember reading that she managed to obtain some sort of cease fire arrangment with Israal in their latest conflict (a few months ago?), but then Cheney called them and told them to ignore her and go ahead with the bombing.

[Rex]

11. So who owns this fluff paper? No wait, don't tell me.

Lemme guess...

[oscarmitre]

26. Fairfax, not News Ltd. n/t

[StClone]

16. What did Con-didlittle ever have to offer?

A PhD. in some Russian stuff whoopi-dew...all you need to know is that she was submissive to Bush. Dumb and Dumber. For all his faults Jessie Jackson was far more effective at U.S. Foreign Diplomacy and he never held an official title!

[The Count]

17. Condi's star? There was a Star? Ha! "WORKING FOR PEACE" was the banner on the cover

of TIME for kids - under her snarling photo. My kid's homework asserted people admired her for her powerful position in our government. And the title of the article - right from W's debate bumblings: HARD WORK"
What a fraud!

[Disturbed]

19. How many Dems dared vote against her as S of S?

She was chosen by Busholini because he knew the Dems would not dare vote against her en mass. You can guess the reasons.

[burythehatchet]

21. our hopes and dreams now lie with

Karen Hughes

[Monk06]

23. Condi is Bush's Sally Hemings.

[cosmicdot]

24. "refrain from impugning my integrity"

Curious enough, Chevron renamed the oil tanker 'the Altair Voyager', after an actual 'star'.

she's mindful of 'integrity' and former 'corporate' supervisors and culture ... where the integrity category in job performance was changed from 'yes' or 'no' to a rating on a 1 to 5 scale (sort of a grade curve for upper management good ol'boys wearing Condi's integrity shoes)


#7 of top 10 Conservative Idiots - Jan. 24, 2005
http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/05/183.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20795-2005Jan19.html


Rice's confirmaton. Sen. Boxer presented Rice with several of her statements.


"MS. RICE: Senator, that was just a question of pointing out to people that there was an uncertainty. No one was saying that he would have to have a weapon within a year for it to be worth it to go to war.

"SEN. BOXER: Well, if you can't admit to this mistake, I hope that you'll --

"MS. RICE: Senator, we can have this discussion in any way that you would like. But I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity. Thank you very much."

[formercia]

27. No more Marquis De Rumsfeld to hide behind

In the stark light of day, the truth quickly becomes apparent.

[tabasco]

29. National security director on 9-11. Gets a promotion.

Haven't we had enough of this mafia shit?

Only loyalty matters in the Bush cabal.

[entanglement]

30. Poor Condi, you are no longer of use to massa...

Watch as MSM slowly shifts the blame for everything on you...did you REALLY think you were one of them?
You couldn't be more wrong, if you did. You were USED, lady. Your bosses will find any number of willing replacements to do their bidding.

[Atman]

31. They'd all have better received a big chunk of that "missing" 9 billion dollars

Because as everyone associated with BushCo is finding out, their careers in politics are over. They can join Tenet on the laughable book tour circuit.

.