I wonder what Condi Rice thinks of the "She lives near Russia so she's an expert" claim?

[EffieBlack]

Whatever one thinks of Condoleezza Rice, she DOES have a rather impressive background on Russia - and we're STILL having trouble dealing with them! I can't help but wonder what she must think when she hears McCain et al babble on and on about Sarah Palin's supposed Russian expertise, based on the fact that she lives in a state that happens to be near the former Soviet Union.

According to a press release issued by Stamford University upon her appointment as Provost, Rice had the following background. And this was 15 YEARS AGO - BEFORE she became National Security Adviser and Secretary of State:

- 1989-91 Special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Soviet affairs for the National Security Council. As such, she was the White House specialist on the Soviet Union in 1989-91, during the transformation of that country, and was deeply involved in the formulation of U.S. policy on the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe.

- Author of three books: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army, 1948-1983: Uncertain Allegiance, The Gorbachev Era, and Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft.

- Published a score of scholarly articles on such subjects as Soviet and East European foreign and defense policy;

- Lectured to such groups as the Defense College of Japan, the Beijing Institute for International Studies; and, in Russian, to Soviet military and foreign policy experts at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Moscow.

- Bachelor's Degree, and membership in Phi Beta Kappa, at the University of Denver in 1974; master's degree from Notre Dame University in 1975; and doctorate from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981.

- Came to Stanford in 1981 as an assistant professor of political science and assistant director of the Center for International Security and Arms Control. She was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1987, and to full professor in 1993. She also is a fellow, by courtesy, of the Hoover Institution.

- Fluent in Russian

http://news-service.stanford.edu/pr/93/930519Arc3267.html

I'm no fan of Condoleezza Rice, but damn - THAT'S expertise on Russia. In comparison, Sarah "I can see Russia from here with big binoculurs" Palin is a big joke.

[Skwmom]

1. Rice is a big joke. She will toe the party line.

[BklynChick]

2. Condi seems rather luke warm about Palin.

[EffieBlack]

3. Maybe she knows that the people who are falling all over themselves about Palin

would never even THINK of putting Rice on the ticket, even though her experience and expertise dwarf those of the current VP nominee - so much for the hypocritical "Republican Women Power" crowd.

[blondeatlast]

4. You know, that would make for some good TV. Maybe the m$m ought to consider that.

What am I saying? They are fearful of the Mighty McSame McCampiagn; the MSNBC guy just said so!

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Whatever you think of Dr. Rice, the dissertation didn't write itself

I'm sure she's just thrilled as peaches that know-nothing Sarah Palin gets to be a "Russia expert" through proximity. I know I always accept the expertise of people who never wrote a dissertation in my field as gospel. I only had to study thousands of books and articles for six years, and develop an original argument in response to the expansive literature...Palin gets it by heh heh bein' from Alaska.

Nice, huh?

[XemaSab]

6. I think Condi would have made a much better VP choice than Sarah

Pandering? Yes.

But that woman has a LOT on the ball... she'd be ready to lead on day 1, and she's not a fundie freak either.

[EffieBlack]

7. But she has one major problem . . .

[XemaSab]

10. One major problem?

Would this be... um... the same "problem" Barack has? :shrug:

Or would it be the same problem Cheney has? :P

[EffieBlack]

12. It's one of the very few characterastics she shares with Obama.

[XemaSab]

13. Being clean and articulate?

That's two.... :P

[yardwork]

15. Being pro-life?

[ogneopasno]

8. And with all that, she still can't speak Russian for shit!

Boy, you'd think with a Secretary of State like that, we'd know how to handle Putin. Oops.

[EffieBlack]

9. I guess she's not close enough to Russia to pick up the lingo . . .

[liberalpragmatist]

11. Condi's statement on Palin (for real)

When asked about Palin, all Rice could muster was...

"I mean, she's a governor. Of a state. That's part of the United States."

For real.

[yardwork]

14. Rice's expertise on Russia doesn't seem to have helped us much.

At this point, I'd say that we would do better without any Republicans in government. "Experienced" or not, they're all morans.

[goodgd_yall]

16. This is what she thinks

:rofl: