Rice is a class act. Unfortunately class acts don't stay in government. She would make an excellent VP.

Can we please investigate how 9/11 happened on this woman's watch? It was her job as National Security Advisor to ensure the president paid attention to the warnings. She failed miserably. She was not qualified for the job to begin with, and her total incompetence at the job is proof. How did she get the job? She was an oil executive. Enough said. What a disgrace this president and his cronies are to our country.

The inescapable fact is it is Republican presidents who have appointed blacks to the highest ranking positions in the nation: Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court; General Powell and Dr. Rice as Secretaries of State. The Bush cabinets have been far more representative of America's diversity than any Democratic president in history.

I guess you didn't hear that she also said over in the Washington Times, and it's much more disturbing. How Condi Rice describes blacks...

Rice hits U.S. 'birth defect'
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/FOREIGN/746301768/1001

"Black Americans were a founding population," she said. "Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together — Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. That's not a very pretty reality of our founding."

As a result, Miss Rice told editors and reporters at The Washington Times, "descendants of slaves did not get much of a head start, and I think you continue to see some of the effects of that."

"That particular birth defect makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it, and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today," she said.

"It's time for new blood."

C. Rice

That's about as close to an endorsement as you're going to get from a member of the opposing party.

The real question is, "Why do presidents wait until there is some kind of controversy before they address the race issue?"

President GH Bush fumbled with the race following the so-called "Rodney King Trial." President Clinton hardly said "boo" about the "OJ Verdict." He said up a commission at some point, but who can remember what the commission reported back?

And no one has touched the race issue since.

It seems as if putting our heads in the sand is PLAN A. And there's no PLAN B.

My personal feeling is that the race issue is all about our unwillingness to forgive. Whites want blacks to forgive. But whites find it hard to forgive blacks when they "get out of line" or say "hateful things."

It's like a marriage. When one spouse is unfaithful, it's difficult for the other to forgive. Even if the other does forgive, there may be ramifications.

At the end of the day, it's about constant forgiveness - because there are consequences when one side does something terrible to the other side. The consequences do not have to be intentional. They are just consequences.

In our race case, the consequences of slavery, Jim Crow, and post-Civil Rights Act discrimination are bad schools, drug infested communities, and violent and potentially dangerous fellow citizens.

We need to acknowledge those consequences and work hard, with a forgiving heart, to find ways to address those consequences.

You know, I listened to her remarks, and she managed to sum up history quite well without making any living person look bad. She touched on the positive and the negative in a reasonable manner. She may not have the flair of Obama but she certainly addressed the issue in a way that didn't leave a bad taste or threw anyone under the bus.

Wow. Maybe I like Dr Rice after all. I guess she knows a winner when she sees one. A stark contrast to the new McCain add.

He's still living in Vietnam. John it's 2008.

Clearly a third Bush term. I like McCain personally but he's lost me. p.s. I'm glad Dr Rice isn't considering a VP position. I'm sure they'd rip on her piano playing.

Very impressive that Condoleeze Rice would in effect stand up for Barack Obama's patriotism. I think more highly of her for this speaking truth to power without regard for partisan niceties.

Thank you Condie. I swear I always stood up for you. I knew you had it in you to weigh in with sagely advice. You are a true American

one more reason to NOT vote for Obama.
STAY IN THE RACE HILARY!
The secret's out!
It's Obama who is Republican-lite!

"It's time for new blood," Rice said.
-
So I guess that means she won't be voting for McCain. That is, unless she meant "more" blood.

Racism is a two-way street; not the one-way street in which the media and others try to characterize the issue. Everyone is a 'victim' these days and it has grown to be very popular and fashionable. Racism resides in the hearts and minds of human beings and has nothing to do with the relative pigmentation of one's skin; PERIOD. Please, look up the word in the dictionary and get a grip. The one-sidedness of this issue is infuriating, unfair, and patently racist.

I heard that Condi used a term "birth defect"to describe race. Since black men could vote before any woman...there are plenty of "birth defects" to go around. Women have loved their country too, even though in many respects it still doesn't love them.
Vote for the first WOMAN president HILLARY CLINTON. This is not divisive. Black women and women all over the world will benefit.

Rock of Ages, you need to explain what you mean by "one-sidedness of this issue."
I think you mean that white people are not the only group which has racists within. There are probably a lot of people who can break this whole issue down to it's lowest common thread to make it easier for you to understand. Obviously Sec Rice's discussion was not enough for you. A lot of white people are in denial about slavery, Jim Crow, segregation and all that other stuff, and could care less about whether it existed or not. They are cousins to people who believe that the Holocaust was something made up make Germans look bad. It existed only in the "hearts and minds" of Jews. Right?

"Since black men could vote before any woman..."

Posted by: Lesley

I'd rather not have the vote than not being free to eat where I want, sleep where I want, and crap where I want.

To quote Bill Clinton, "Give me a break."

"Could" is the operative vote. The Constitution said the black man "could" vote, but many white men never read the U.S. Constitution and other white men didn't give a s*&^ what the Constitution said.

Great discussion. However,
a couple questions. Why does everyone forget that Sen. Obama is as as white as he is black? Why forget the nine months his mother carried him? Why forget the role his mother's parents played in raising him?

one more reason to NOT vote for Obama.
STAY IN THE RACE HILARY!
The secret's out!
It's Obama who is Republican-lite!

Posted by: golden oldie | March 28, 2008 8:07 PM

Dude get off my lawn!!!

"Vote for the first WOMAN president HILLARY CLINTON. This is not divisive. Black women and women all over the world will benefit."

Posted by: Lesley | March 28, 2008 8:30 PM

She's run a horrible campaign and is a liar. I'm not voting for that. If you consider those admirable qualities then she your girl. I think she should go back to the Senate where she can do some good. That is if her ego can fit through the door. Kudos to Dr Rice by the way.

[[The inescapable fact is it is Republican presidents who have appointed blacks to the highest ranking positions in the nation: Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court; General Powell and Dr. Rice as Secretaries of State. The Bush cabinets have been far more representative of America's diversity than any Democratic president in history. Posted by: Garfield | March 28, 2008 5:55 PM]]

Clarence Thomas, in addition to being black, also appears to be a deaf mute. He went through an entire term without uttering a word.

Colin Powell's legacy will be the lies he told before the U.N. about yellow cake and aluminum tubes.

Rice's slavish devotion to Bush is an embarrassment. Secret prisons, Guatanamo, the "Patriot Act," an immoral war, spying on Americans. All on her watch. She is an odd woman. Now we get to watch, for the next few decades, as she re-writes history and tries to shape and prop up Shrub's legacy.

Yep Why is Obama referred to as black when his mother is white. He is black and white 50 - 50 . do the math. and to those who blame Condolezza for the Iraq war. Get with it It was Dick the Cheney. He was obessesed with getting Sadam to the point where he bullied his staff with the blessings of George into saying whatever was necessary to start the war. He was OCD. Should have see "Frontline" very revealing . so here we are people... trillions of dollars in debt bad reputation around the world and a recession on our hands global warming. Obama for president. we need not just change but serious change. wouldn't u say. bye bye

Bruce Y.

If B.J. Clinton would have walked the walk, instead of talked the talk, maybe innocent U.S. citizens wouldn't have had to jump out of The Twin Towers to their death.

...just a thought regarding 'more blood' on your idiotic post.

We're in a war you fool!

Paulo

To those Whites who Claim to Have Had No Complicity in Slavery...

When the subject of race and slavery are mentioned, most whites will quickly say, “I didn't have anything to do with slavery, why should my tax money help pay to level the playing field for blacks?”
Those people are not thinking! If they were, they would realize that all the benefits that accrue to them as Caucasians were achieved through slavery and discrimination. Here are some examples:

Benefits of Being White in America
http://www.dickshovel.com/priv.html

More Thoughts on White Privilege
“So, I cannot, and indeed should not, feel either guilty or proud about being white, because it is a state of being I have no control over. However, as a member of a society--and especially as a privileged member of society--I have an obligation not simply to enjoy that privilege that comes with being white but to study and understand it, and work toward a more just world in which such unearned privilege is eliminated. “ Robert JohnsonPhD http://www.dickshovel.com/priv2.html

Condoleeza Rice, thank you!

Of course there was a "birth defect." Read the original Constitution and its provisions about slaves being counted as 3/5 of a person. Read history about how this "compromise" between northern and southern states lay the groundwork for the Civil War 74 years later. If you don't understand why she called it a "birth defect," you are probably not well enough informed to cast an intelligent vote in the current presidential election.

The inescapable fact is it is Republican presidents who have appointed blacks to the highest ranking positions in the nation: Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court; General Powell and Dr. Rice as Secretaries of State.
Posted by: Garfield | March 28, 2008 5:55 PM

Yes....Then they proceeded to keep them out of the loop and use them as pawns in the run up to the Iraq war. Ask Powell...he'll tell you how great they were.

Wonder how this all jives with Pastor Wright's comments now on YouTube, callind Condi Rice: "CondoSkeeza."

A "skeeze" according to the Urban Dictionary means "gutter Prostitute."

Funny how the media has ignored this aspect of the story.

Non-black American no longer is interested in any opinion about Obama from a black person!OBAMA IS UNELECTABLE IN GENERAL ELECTION. With each new utterance on the topic of Reverend Wright, Barack Obama seems to confirm his own moral obliviousness. Worse yet, he seems to have disdain for those who are troubled by his own unwillingness to break with Wright. But it gets worse. Obama insists Wright is “a brilliant man who was still stuck in a time warp.” So brilliant, apparently, that he has uncovered the plot by white America to kill African Americans and so insightful as to perceive the 9/11 attacks as caused by America’s own terrorism. Then there was his discerning observation that Israel is a “dirty” word. And after all this, still Wright, in Obama’s eyes, is brilliant. This, we are told by the legions of Obamaphiles, is not supposed to affect voters’ view of Obama’s judgment. perhaps they are just embarrassed to tell pollsters they are privately offended. But in a general election contest this is not going to go unnoticed, we will see Republicans and many independents are irked by this moral obtuseness. Do not believe what you see on CNN or Hardball. Easy to see already see Republican attack ads against Obama, especially since he just came out again yesterday defending Wrights hateful Racism and attacks on white America. Is he an idiot? First open with videos of racist wife, Michelle, saying she was proud of America "for the first time" because of her husband's presidential candidacy, next Obama explaining that he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin or hold his hands to his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance because it is a "substitute for true patriotism." Then flash a clip of Obama explaining that his Caucasian grandmother was a "typical white person" because she uttered racial epithets and was afraid of black people. Finally, the coup de grace, pictures of Obama's angry, arm-waving preacher blaming the United States for 9/11 and shouting "God Damn America" to the rafters of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ and preaching the U.S. government formulated the HIV AIDS virus to commit genocide against blacks. Even though Obama supposedly condemning Wright's shocking verbal assaults against the U.S and White Americans, even last year; Obama was the first to public ally demand Don Imus ouster for making a racially insensitive remark, and Obama continues to support Wrights racism and remains at the church for more than 20 years, he and Michelle obviously feels it’s a good environment to expose his young daughters too. His opinions and issues change with the weather, he is too UNSTABLE and proven he cannot make a decision or stay with one.

If that’s not enough, then you start showing his terrible senate voting record, Obama when faced with tough choices always gave in to pressure from the Bush administration or corporate lobbyists, Obama dealings with one of his largest contributors, Exelon, a big nuclear power company and the deals he cut behind closed doors to protect them from full disclosure in the nuclear industry. Obamas record shows he infact did support the war when he got to the senate, voted twice against bringing America's troops back home. He voted for war appropriations giving our money to Halliburton and Blackwater where Texas woman, was gang-raped by her co-workers at a Halliburton/KBR camp in Baghdad, His latest bit of posturing S 433 allows the Bush Administration to suspend any troop withdrawal, if not suspended, keeps the troops in Iraq for a long time to come, but in his camp stumps touts he wants to bring troops home, but as we have witnessed his recent lies to voters like Canada he cannot be trusted on his word and lastly ALL the corrupt indicted financial backers, like Rezko…Get out of the race Obama you are destroying the democratic party!

"Yep Why is Obama referred to as black when his mother is white. He is black and white 50 - 50."

Its known as the "One Drop" rule. Any person possessing any non-Caucasian skin pigmentation is thus considered "black" to our society. Pretty sad.

Can we please investigate how 9/11 happened on this woman's watch? It was her job as National Security Advisor to ensure the president paid attention to the warnings. She failed miserably. She was not qualified for the job to begin with, and her total incompetence at the job is proof. How did she get the job? She was an oil executive. Enough said. What a disgrace this president and his cronies are to our country.

Posted by: Paul | March 28, 2008 5:55 PM

I thought that this bears repeating. Condoleeza Rice was responsible for allowing 9/11 to be executed completely unmolested, and was also responsible for shifting U.S. military focus towards Iraq, as well as the ensuing catastrophic failure of that military adventure.

Please please please nominate her to be your VP, Mr. McCain.

Posted by: Garfield | March 28, 2008 5:55 PM

The Bush administration is the administration of "window dressing".

The idea is to pick the BEST person for the cabinet posts. Bush just put some minorities in there to look good. Oh, and by the way, I think Colin Powel was an excellant secretary of state. He also had the class to leave when he realized Bush lied to start a war in Iraq.

It's good that there is bipartisan understanding of the importance of considering the larger context of the Wright controversy. Newt Gingrich also had some interesting views on the speech in Philadelphia. http://acropolisreview.com/2008/03/video-barack-obamas-philadelphian-unity.html

Rice's slavish devotion to Bush is an embarrassment. Secret prisons, Guatanamo, the "Patriot Act," an immoral war, spying on Americans. All on her watch. She is an odd woman. Now we get to watch, for the next few decades, as she re-writes history and tries to shape and prop up Shrub's legacy.

Posted by: Just Saying | March 29, 2008 12:14 AM

All true. Well at least she had the guts to tell us one honest thing. She is basically a liar but at least she's smart enough to know Obama is the best person for the job.