History Lesson

I heard Democrat pundit Bob Beckel opine that Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice was “not up to the job” for which she’s set to do (thanks for reminding me, lyle).

However, Ann Coulter takes a walk down memory lane to remind us of the quality of some of the more recent occupiers of the SOS Cabinet position.

With [Madeline] Albright at the helm of the State Department [during the Clinton Administration], Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) ran wild throughout the Middle East, the North Koreans began feverishly building nukes under her nose, and we staged a pre-emptive attack solely for purposes of regime change based on false information presented to the American people by Albright about a world leader who was not an imminent threat to the United States. Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) wasn't even a latent, long-term, hypothetical threat. [SNIP]

Or how about Clinton's first secretary of state, Warren Christopher, a lawyer whose dazzling foreign policy experience consisted of being President Carter's chief negotiator for the hostages in Iran? That's almost as impressive a resume entry as "Chief Iceberg Lookout, the Titanic," "Senior Design Engineer, the Edsel," "Navigator, Exxon Valdez," or "Writer/Executive Producer, 'Alexander.'" [Ha Ha!]

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Ann Coulter column without her dropping a few more Coulterisms (read: withering snark) into the mix.

The entire Bush cabinet is starting to look like an Image Awards telecast minus the fisticuffs and gunplay. [SNIP]

It's extremely valuable for Democrats to be able to campaign in black neighborhoods while talking about the "white boys" running the Republican Party. When she was managing Al Gore (news - web sites)'s 2000 campaign, Donna Brazile said she was not going to "let the white boys win in this election." (If I had a nickel for every time I've confused Al Gore, Joe Lieberman (news - web sites), Terry McAuliffe, Paul Begala and James Carville for the Jackson Five ...)

McAuliffe might pass as Michael Jackson's stunt double, but as for the rest...

A few weeks back, I also happened to witness an exchange between Coulter and Beckel, during which she nearly made him cry. The subject was related to this column: President Bush’s minority Cabinet appointees and the general disdain that Democrats seem to have for them. You know Ann; she’ll call a spade a spade, no pun intended. She said flat-out that those who would malign Rice, Powell, et al, for being Republican While Not-White were racists. Well Mr. Beckel took it personally and played the I-Marched-In-The-Civil-Rights-Movement Card. Can you tell my eyes were rolling? Now don’t get me wrong. I appreciate those who did as Mr. Beckel did, but shouldn’t such people be happy to see that the barriers of race—not to mention party-affiliation—have fallen so low in such a short period of time? But it appears that for Beckel--and for all too many other left-of-center media types-- that black progress is only real progress when it has a (D) in front of it.

…Bush nominates a brilliant geopolitical thinker who happens to be black and female and all of a sudden she's Butterfly McQueen, who don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no Middle Eastern democracies.

(See background.)

(I almost expected Bob to ask Ann where she was when he was getting his head cracked--his words--by the powers-that-were. Since Ann in her early forties, I suspect that she was in kindergarten, administering a beat-down to some little dodgeball player who had the cojones to pull one of her blond ponytails.)

As Ann says, the Democrats are just scared to lose their stranglehold on the black electorate. You think you’ve seen a mass liberal hissy-fit in the wake of the 2004 election? This is nothing. Should Condoleezza Rice change her mind and run for president in 2008, I predict that 50% of the black vote will go toward the Republican ticket. And that’s a conservative estimate. Pun intended this time.

Comments

[Ted Pohrte]

I hope Ms. Rice does run for Prez - I'd love to see and hear her "disassemble" Hillary in their debates.

[Jim C.]

I saw Dr. Rice speaking on TV the other day, and I thought for the umpteenth time, "DAMN, she'd make a GREAT President!" Brilliant, poised, excellent speaker - it sure would be nice if she had experience holding elected public office.

[Solomon]

Like I mentioned on my blog, I wnant barriers broken. And if its her and a white Democrat, I would vote for her in a heartbeat. Doesn't matter if I disagree with her mostly. Seeing her face next to all those presidents would make my heart swell.

[Chase]

That's the only major problem I have with Coulter: I don't think removing a tyrant is ever a bad thing, whether he poses a threat or not. If only Bill would have fought to win, though...

[Steven J. Kelso Sr.]

"...all of a sudden she's Butterfly McQueen, who don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no Middle Eastern democracies." LOL!!!

[Walter Wallis]

I saw that, too, and I wanted to bitch slap Beckel. I was waiting for "Some of my best friends are African-Americans."
I marched, and I actively opposed segregation back when it was not a smart career move for a white boy. I did it not because of some reverence for blackness, but from an understanding that segregation was just another tool to control all of us. Beckel reminds me of some of the dilletants in the movement best depicted in the book "MauMauing the Flak Catchers."

[DagneyT]

"You know Ann; she’ll call a spade a spade, no pun intended."

She does better than that, she calls a spade a f#*'ing shovel! Beckel rarely loses his cool, sorry I missed that! I love it when his supremely cool manner is ruffled, and having a woman of her caliber do it would have had me cheering!

[Kevin Murphy]

Why is it so awful that the Republican Party has come 'round to civil rights? Isn't that what everyone wanted? Is it that they came late? I think it was Roy Innis who said that "Most white people came late to civil rights."

But then, after watching the gay leadership do it's level best to kill any hope of voter acceptance of gay marriage (by trying to force it through the courts), I suspect that there are those who want "their" people to remain as oppressed as possible.

[Sven Svenson]

Too bad that Ann didn't point out to Beckel the fact that those cracking his head were Dixiecrats, ie., southern DEMOCRATS.

DagneyT - Best you check your facts. The Republican percentage of support for civil rights legislation in the House and Senate is greater than that of the Democrats. Democrats are the party of slavery and think everyone should own at least one. If blacks such as Justice Thomas, Dr. Condee Rice, Gen. Powel, et. al., cannot be owned by the Democrats they want them destroyed.

[StinKerr]

I think Sven's comment was incorrectly directed to Dagneyt. I believe it should instead be directed to Kevin Murphy.

Hey Kevin, perhaps you should check your history and quit listening to what certain people would have you believe despite all evidence to the contrary.

Those certain people would include Al Gore who brags about his father's contribution to civil rights when in reality Al Senior spent his Senate career filibustering and doing everything possible to defeat civil rights legislation. Lyndon Johnson had to rely on Republicans to finally get it passed despite all the Democrat obstructions.

Do some research, Kevin, you might learn something and not embarrass yourself in the future.

-------

Your prediction of a 50% black vote for Dr.Rice, should she run, (and I hope she does) kind of mystifies me, Juliette. I labor under the impression that most blacks would vote race before party. I could be wrong, it won't be the first time. Maybe Lyndon Johnson had it right when he bragged that he'd have...er...ah...certain people voting Dem for the next 200 years.

I think Condoleezza Rice is the best thing to come along since Shirley Chisholm.

[StinKerr]

Oh, and my original thought when I came to the comments section: I saw Coulter hand Beckel his @$$ the other night too. I almost felt sorry for him. He was in retreat from the get go.

I like Beckel, I disagree with him on most things but I think I'd enjoy a beer and conversation with him. Of course, I'd enjoy the company of Ann Coulter more. Beckel doesn't have the legs that Ann does nevermind the wit. ;-)

[baldilocks]

Stinkerr: I *did* say it was a conservative estimate. :-)

[Kevin Murphy]

Stinkerr--

You read too many of your resentments into my posts.

I know the history quite well, but I also know the public perception, the lack of republican zeal, and the noisy positions of Goldwater and new chum Strom Thurmond.

Republicans may have voted for civil rights when the spotlight was on them, and Southern Democrats were given a pass (especially after Nixon co-opted them) but at least until the 1970's Repiublicans were at best passive on the subject.

Not until Reagan tried to shake things up a bit at HUD was their any republican leadership on the issue. And no, Warren doesn't count.

The Bushes (father and son) have made African-American party membership a point of honor for Republicans. And if Condi does run, she'll get less than 50% of the black vote the first term. Second term is a whole different matter.

[DagneyT]

Sven, I do not know what I said that led you to believe I do not know my facts. I posted at this site the little known fact that Republicans first proposed civil rights legislation in 1888! The GOP continued proposing it until they finally crammed it through when LBJ, who had fought it repeatedly as a senator, was forced to sign the bill, much to his dismay. Why else do you think he furthered the welfare state? So that he could break apart the family structure!

[girl]

I think the best part about that exchange for me is that when Beckel was ranting and raving, they showed Ann in the split screen and she was visibly holding back laughter. I mean, really, all you can do is laugh when people go off on a tangent like that. Beckel irritates me all too often.

[jgalt]

I love your blog. Happened to see the Coulter show and was left with my suspicions confirmed.

Democrats priorities:

1) Triumph of the "Party"

14 or 15) Celebration of minority achievements

I would love to see their reaction in 2008 if Dr. Rice runs and the majority of red-staters like myself support her. Talk about voter fraud conspiracies from the left. "It's not possible for whites from non blue states to vote in these number for an African-American!"

It is! And that's the beauty of America!

[azul93gt]

I liked when Coulter called Beckel(sp?) a liberal "jerk-off" when Beckel was making some inane patronizing comment. I know it sounds infintile to read here but it was very appropriate in context.

[Granny Jan]

As a white female and Republican I have never understood the racial divide in America. I remember Little Rock and never understood why the 'whites' were so afraid of blacks getting a education. I saw the show you're talking about and agree the man was left swinging in the wind trying to defend his opinion that Ms.Rice wasn't up to the job. I'm a Republican because I don't suppose abortion or bigger government, but when it comes to doing the "Job" I believe qualifications matter, not the skin color, eye color, hair color, or the shape of the kneecaps, etc. If Ms. Rice runs in 2008 (and I hope she does) I will vote for her. P.S. I really enjoy reading your blog.

[A.R.Yngve]

I have seen some shockingly and EXPLICITLY racist newspaper cartoons of Condoleeza Rice lately... and those were not published by the Ku Klux Klan, but by the supposedly "mainstream" newspapers. It made me sad and angry.

But I think that when most people talk about "race", they really mean "culture". There has long been this assumption that Democrats and American blacks were part of the same "culture". And in this lies also the unspoken assumption that blacks are "bound" to a certain party. Hence the hostility to people with brown skin and African-looking features who break the stereotype.

Even as I wish all "race" labels would go away once and for all, I realize they will be around for some time... but progress is made every time a dark-skinned person is recognized by merit and not by "race".

As for the cartoonists who painted Ms. Rice as a "dumb Negro"... there's a special place in Hell reserved for them. Burn, Danziger. Burn, Oliphant.

-A.R.Yngve
http://yngve.bravehost.com

[Veeshir]

I would look forward to Condi Rice running for President just so I can watch the Dems explain exactly why she's neither a woman nor black.
That would make for one entertaining election season.
The icing would be if she ran against Hillary.
Now that would be funny.

[Section 9]

One of the reasons that Bush kept Rice on at the State Department was to keep her in play for 2008. I'm convinced of that. Bush and Rove are thinking of the long term electoral success of the Republican Party. Again, the McKinley vs. Bryan templates come up, with McKinley's centrism beating Bryan's populism every time.

The key is what happens when Dick Cheney steps down, as I believe he will sometime in the next couple of years. That's when I think you'll see Rice promoted to First Officer, if she's not that already. One of the key giveaways was on election night. Rove, Karen Hughes, and Condi Rice were watching the computer printouts and were calling the networks telling them not to declare Kerry the winner quite yet. My take is that she has always been far more politically involved than we have been led to believe.

She's Karl Rove's demographic Lance of Longinius. That's why the Dems don't like her.

[Steampress]

Governing talent tends to be owned by the Republican Party; regardless of race or religion; I'll be happy when ability is judged without the add-on race/religion/gender handle. Condoleeza Rice is an extrordinary talent and the country is priviledged to have her serve.