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.