More on Condi's Confirmation Hearing
It is unlikely that a large number of average Americans watched the hearings today, or will watch them online via CSPAN (no transcript yet). And in a way, this is unfortunate. From the outset of the hearing, it was clear that, as is the norm for the Senate, personal political image, self-congratulation and towing the party line come before all else. Sure, the Senators are concerned for our troops abroad and for security at home, and still they behaved as if they, rather than Dr. Rice and the many challenging issues, were the stars of the show.
There are assorted headline worthy responses and a mix of sound bites that will make the rounds and get covered by the press. Yet the questions were not fashioned in such a way as to lead to discourse, only to express the questioners view, and attempt to lock Dr. Rice into either an opposing view or, worse, a misstatement. This blogger didn’t tune in to find out where the Senators stand, and yet that more than anything else is what I saw. And, I was not impressed… with them. Dr. Rice, on the other hand, remains impressive.
