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Rice Denies Idiocy Rumors

The first rule of escaping an obvious conclusion is not to suggest it yourself:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview released on Friday only an “idiot” would trust North Korea, which is why the United States is insisting on a way to check its nuclear claims. [Reuters]

Well, thanks for clearing that up for us, Madame Secretary. Was this just a case of protesting too much or does this suggest that Maoist self-criticism will be this year’s new fad?

Sometimes it seems the evil ones have a monopoly on guile. It’s good to know that our allies aren’t complete idiots, anyway:

Japan and South Korea, immediately before the latest six-party talks to denuclearize North Korea earlier this month, proposed to the United States that they should push for a strict and comprehensive framework to verify North Korea’s nuclear programs, sources close to the six-party talks said Saturday.

The United States, preferring a verification regime that can be accepted by Pyongyang, was initially reluctant to support the framework proposed by the two countries, which would allow inspections of undeclared nuclear facilities and inspectors to take samples for analysis outside of North Korea, the sources said. [Kyodo News]

Like the lady said … only an idiot. Rice’s dismal performance in office — that is, the steady exacerbation of every major crisis whose management was entrusted to her — makes me wonder just what qualifications some people are seeing in her when they suggest that she should run for president. It’s even harder to explain than that whole Sarah Pailin thing.

5 Responses

  1. We’ll never know who woulda/coulda/shoulda performed better as SoS. The fact that she had to deal with 2 full wars, terrorists at home and abroad, a shrinking globe and a detached coterie of so-called allies might have left her priorities in other places than than SE Asia.

    I was willing to concede on your points until you dragged Sarah Palin in. She will be a force to be reckoned with in GOP politics for the next 20 years, whether you dig her or not.

    Glad to have you back, I missed all your expert analysis over the holidays, but your priorities seem to be right. Glad you could enjoy the family time.

    BTW, while you were Christmassing, Christian activists from the North Korean Christian Association released 1.5 million (yes, that’s million with an ‘m’) leaflets proclaiming the Gospel to the North Koreans. (link here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hK1TkCn8mk1BcEA0fGgGsx1jezfw )

    One of my staffers mining the Korean media today unearthed this factoid: a Bible is bringing in the equivalent of $100 USD in the N. Korean black market.

    KCJ

  2. Sarah Palin has the right instincts on a lot of issues, even if she isn’t the fiscal hawk we really need. I, for one, welcome her to the national spotlight. Hopefully Senator Jeb Bush, Governor Bobby Jindal, and Governor Sarah Palin (and Tim Pawlenty? Mark Sanford?) will all have roles keeping the Democratic hegemony honest.

    As for Rice, I am anxious to get a comprehensive account of just how bad she was. She certainly ended up being a disappointment, in Korea and elsewhere.

  3. I agree that Palin often showed good instincts, but in an election where Obama’s lack of substantive experience could have been McCain’s best issue, picking Pailin completely negated that issue. Though I thought she did well against Biden in the debate, her convention speech was vacuous and cringe-inducing. What’s really troubling about the GOP now is that they have no credible candidates of national stature and sufficient experience now. That’s a formula for one-party rule, which is bad for the country regardless of the party. It’s especially bad when the fourth branch of government is slavishly devoted to giving The Leader unquestioned adoration.

  4. Seriously, Josh, Sarah Palin is the sitting governor of an OCONUS state that has direct trade and diplomatic relations with the far east, is an energy provider for the whole country, has more terrain than Texas and California combined, and she earned a 90% approval rating as its chief exec. The fact that you brought up Obama and not Biden shows that you like most others inadvertantly posited Sarah at the top of the ticket when she was a veep candidate. The media did its best to downlplay her experience as a CEO and Obama’s complete lack of ever being in charge of anything.

    Bottom line: Governor Palin has far more experience in running a state, a budget, a military and a interacting with foreign powers than Barack Obama. And his lack of experience will be loudly evident as he attempts to govern while learning on the job not only what daunting responsibilities the POTUS has, but learning how to lead at all.

    Her impeccable moral values are demonstrated by her behavior – not her rhetoric, as Obama’s was exposed by his abysmal voting record on the right to life and the Chicago political thuggery he has been involved with all along that is now coming to light with Blago-gate.