Can Rice save her legacy with 'Hail Mary' pass on Mideast?

[babylonsister]

Can Rice save her legacy with 'Hail Mary' pass on Mideast?
By Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers

* Posted on Sunday, November 25, 2007


WASHINGTON — Condoleezza Rice became secretary of state almost three years ago with strong support from President Bush, glamorous reviews in the news media and high hopes from America's diplomats.

Since then, Pakistani strongman Pervez Musharraf has ignored her pleas and imposed emergency rule, throwing a key counterterrorism ally into turmoil. In Russia, the country Rice prides herself on knowing best, she and Bush appear to have badly misread President Vladimir Putin, who's restored autocratic rule and his country's rivalry with America. Her drive for Middle East democracy has stalled in Lebanon and elsewhere, and other big issues, including the environment and relations with East Asia, have been relegated to the back burner.

In her own State Department, Rice's concept of "transformational diplomacy" is largely forgotten, a fanfare about better public diplomacy has faded and morale is sinking. Rice is under fire for her handling of staffing in Iraq, and the $740 million U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is riddled with problems and has yet to open.

Rice, usually loath to admit error, did so last month, telling Congress that her department should have provided better oversight of security contractor Blackwater Worldwide.

An ardent football fan, Rice is hoping to rewrite her legacy in the next 14 months, beginning with what amounts to a Hail Mary pass this week in a Mideast peace conference she's organized for Annapolis, Md.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/22030.html

[bluestateguy]

1. That woman is still in office?

I didn't know she was still around.

[H2O Man]

2. No.

Once Woodward included the thing that Bush1 said about her being a disappointment in his most recent book, it showed that even among the republican species, Rice is not taken seriously.

[PDittie]

3. I thought Bill Clinton already played this card.

Did it work for him? I can't remember ... :sarcasm:

[KharmaTrain]

4. Her Legacy In 3 Words

Worst. Secretary of State. Ever.


This lady has not only been ineffectual in playing the "good cop" to the Cheney "bad cop", but is now all but ignored or scoffed in virtually every world capital. She's not just inept but lacks any personal skills that matter most in negotiations. Everyone who deals with her knows she has no real authority. This "summit" is a game with money being spread under the table. Lots of words, no action and Rice will look even more inept when the next bomb explodes in an Israeli market.

[izquierdista]

7. One redeeming quality

She definitely knows where to shop for some trendy shoes! :bounce:

[jimshoes]

5. The players have given a name to the

proceedings they are about to partake in. It's known as a "lecondel" and it means to come and go for meetings that produce few results. The word is based on Ms. Rice’s first name. I think the story appeared in the New York Times, but below is a link to a site that explains the word's origin as well.
http://agonist.org/20071112/lecondel
P.S. This word needs to be added to the DU spell check.

[babylonsister]

6. Now that's just sad; she got her legacy after all. Thanks for that link. nt

[HughMoran]

8. She's a plastic crony doll - she can't succeed

Because she doesn't exist. She is a idealogical tool and nothing else. She defines ass-kissing and there is a reason she has been accused of lying in past important jobs. She will fail because she has no foundation - she is a figment of her own imagination.

[sutz12]

9. The headline assumes she has a legacy to "save" nt

[Tektonik]

10. Blood Stains are hard to get out

Condi can mask the blood on her hands, but it will always remain.