Jim (jazzmanjim) wrote, @ 2004-04-09 00:13:00

There Aren't Many More Impressive Women in Politics
Here's a transcript of Condaleeza Rice's comments before the 9/11 Commission today.

Every time I see Dr. Rice speak in public, I have to stop and watch. She's incredibly intelligent, engaging as a speaker, and has an uncommon ability to explain complicated matters in a way that a layman like me can easily understand. And she's really quotable, too. Here's an example from today.

"After the September 11th attacks, our Nation faced hard choices. We could fight a narrow war against al-Qaida and the Taliban or we could fight a broad war against a global menace. We could seek a narrow victory or we could work for a lasting peace and a better world. President Bush chose the bolder course."

Bam - concise and sharply to the point.

You may not like her politics but you can't deny that she's damned sharp and more than qualified to do what she's doing.

Now, I'm going to pick a couple nits here where she's concerned. First, the woman holds a Doctorate and she's the National Security Advisor. She's earned much better than to be called "Condi" by the media talking heads. They've not earned that level of familiarity with her in any way. Her position and sheer manners demands that they either call her "Dr. Rice" or "Condoleeza" until she grants them permission to be more familiar. And if that happened, they certainly shouldn't refer to her by a diminuitive nickname in a news broadcast. Using a nickname like that diminishes her. It makes her smaller and less important than she is and it's disrespectful. I don't see them doing this with any other female officials in this administration (or any other, for that matter).

Second, I have a huge problem with the raking over the coals she's been getting. If you read the newscasts, you see all sorts of phrases attributed to her that I know full well wouldn't be used if another woman were in her position. I have even more respect for her because she's not cut loose and flown off the handle. She could very easily make the point that the coverage of her has been sexist and perhaps even racist, but she hasn't. it's one hell of a credit to her that she's stayed focused on the issue at hand instead of defending her own personal honor.