November 15, 2004

Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell are proof Race is a side-show on the road to Empire
by Liza Sabater

The New York Times > Washington > Powell to Resign; Rice Is Seen as Likely Successor

"In recent weeks and months, President Bush and I have talked about foreign policy and we've talked about what to do at the end of the first term," Mr. Powell said. "After we had had a chance to have good and fulsome discussions on it, we came to mutual agreement that it would be appropriate for me to leave at this time."

"What am I going to do next?" he later asked rhetorically. "I don't know."

President Bush issued a statement afterward in which he called Mr. Powell "one of the great public servants of our time," hailing him as "a soldier, a diplomat, a civic leader, a statesman and a great patriot," whose friendship he valued. "He will be missed," Mr. Bush said.

The capital was abuzz with talk that Mr. Powell's successor would be Ms. Rice, whose nomination by the president, officials said, is expected to be announced in the next few days. Ms. Rice, an influential adviser to the Bush family since the administration of the current president's father, had been said to have been interested in the defense secretary's post, but there has been no indication that its current occupant, Donald H. Rumsfeld, will be leaving.

First Off, welcome fellow DailyKossacs, MeFiers, Eschatoners, Left Coasters, and everybody else who has come to site via Google, forums and any other places the "Condi & Bush" meme has landed.

When I first posted Condoleezza Rice, a Sally Hemmings for the 21st Century, I had no idea the it would become a meme and the most read post on this site. The post, actually, was not easy to write because it meant airing a controversial part of my family's history. But the "private as political" nature of the post was one of the reasons I created this blog : to look at how in the anonimity of our daily lives -- in our every day decisions and our fates -- we echo and effect the course of history. I believe it's in our little personal stories that we define History. It was in that spirit that I wrote that post. Not as evidence of anything but as a moment for pause and reflection.

Sometime ago, O Magazine published an interview between Ms. Rice and Oprah Winfrey. The subtitle to the article said sometime like "the most powerful woman in the world". That article made my heart heavy; because as much as I would have wanted to look at Ms. Rice as an example for young black women and men to follow, i couldn't. It does not matter whether Ms. Rice is qualified for the jobs she has held or will fulfill in the future. The fact of the matter is that her actions, her lies and manipulation of intelligence has led this country to a war that has killed too many lives in the name of "freedom".

Mr. Powell is no less reprehesible. I can understand his following orders and fulfilling his duties to his country as a General during the Persian Gulf War. As a diplomatic representative of the citizens of the United States, for him to go in front of the United Nations and the world and categorically lie about the Iraqi threat was not just unethical --It was an absolutely immoral act.

Just because they are Negroes, race should not be reason to hold judgement of them. On the contrary, because they are Negroes we should. Negroes on the left need to look hard at how Rice and Powell go to where they are because this is what equal opportunity has wrought. If we are going to fight for equal opportunity for all, we have to do so with the notion that once sucessful, if you use your newfound power for evil, you should stand equal judgement as well.

Liberals have a long way to go when it comes to dealing with Race and Ethnicity. Liberals have certainly a lot to learn from the most racially and integrated White House in the history of the United States. This is not because George W. Bush is intent on advancing the cause of colored people. When it comes to Empire, Power is supreme. Whatever alliances need to be done, they will be done and used for Power. Rice and Powell's race was an almost perfect deflector of criticism that caught the world by surprise and made their jobs easy. Why? Wouldn't they use their race for good and not evil?

We should not to allow BushCo to use Race and now Ethnicity --with the Miguel Estrada hearings-- as a deflector of criticism and judgement. Ms. Rice may well indeed be the most powerful woman in the world. Mr. Estrada, if appointed Attorney General may well become the most powerful Chicano in the world. If they've reaped the benefits of equal opportunity to get so far, we should afford them the courtesy of equal scrutiny and judgement.

Don't be blinded by race and ethnicity just because it might sound un-pc to criticize. It's because of "political correctness" that "minorities" like Powell and Rice have aided and abetted The Rise of Pseudo Fascism that's taking the world by storm.

Posted by Liza Sabater in Condoleeza Rice, Empire, Government, Race
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Incase you haven't heard, Colin Powell (some say the only remaining sane person in the Bush administration) has handed in his resignation. The great Ms. Condoleezza Rice is set to take his position. She is the perfect candidate for the job, given her ... [More...]

Found inNovember 16, 2004 12:53 AM

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