Pick Your Incompetent Cabinet Member

by emptywheel

If I were to tell you a bunch of Republicans were lobbying to get one of Bush's Cabinet Members fired or transferred for incompetence, who do you think that Cabinet Member would be? And if I told you this person was perceived as botching up the Middle East, being ignorant of the Middle East, allowing our enemies to take advantage of us... And what if I added that these Republicans expect this Cabinet Member's policy to collapse within a few months?

Well, I guess that last bit--looking to the future for this person's policy to collapse--is your tip off the conservatives are not calling for the sacking of Donald Rumsfeld, whose policies (notably his fantasy of "Transformation") have already failed, and with it the entire Iraq War.

Nope, they're happy with Rummy's incompetence. It's Condi they want to get rid of. (Hat tip to lukery.)

Now, the story is interesting for more than just the risible notion that you'd fire anyone before you'd fire Rummy. It reveals a good deal about the factionalism within the administration. After all, these are  Rummy's and Dick's surrogates--Newt and Richard Perle and unnamed members of OVP and NSC and DOD (elsewhere the article mentions John Bolton, Eliott Abrams, Robert Joseph, and John Hannah)--calling for Condi's head. Among the sins they accuse Condi of? She has consulted with her Undersecretary and (gasp!) Senators:

They said the secretary relies completely on Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who is largely regarded as the architect of U.S. foreign policy. Miss Rice also consults regularly with her supporters on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chairman Richard Lugar and the No. 2 Republican, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

She has dared to chasten Israel for its excessiveness in Lebanon.

The critics said Miss Rice [ed. note: note the way they use "Miss" here rather than Dr.] has adopted the approach of Mr. Burns and the State Department bureaucracy that most—if not all—problems in the Middle East can be eased by applying pressure on Israel. They said even as Hezbollah was raining rockets on Israeli cities and communities, Miss Rice was on the phone nearly every day demanding that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert exercise restraint.

And she is using diplomacy to deal with Iran's purported nuclear program.

They said by that time even Mr. Bush will recognize the failure of relying solely on diplomacy in the face of Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Frankly, I think this story is a good sign. It says that Condi's pursuit of a diplomatic solution to Iran still has the upper hand. It says Condi is consulting one of the few sane Republicans left, Chuck Hagel. It says the Neocons are getting desperate enough to call for the sacking of the one person Bush really trusts.

I'm no fan of Condi. But if the Neocons are calling for her head, she must be doing something right.

Update:

At HuffPo, Cenk Uygur sees the same thing I'm seeing--this is an attempt to get Condi out of the way so they can implement their grand Neocon plans.

So, it's on. They're making their final push because they wouldn't have called out Condi in public if they didn't think this was the time to strike and take her down. If they succeed, we will DEFINITELY have war with Iran.

Comments

[DemFromCT]

Condi Rice is not one of my favorite Bushbots. I think she's done more damage as NSA than we'll ever recover from.

As Secy of State she looks good only in comparison. She has Iraq in her portfolio, even if not as much as the neocons, Rummy and Cheney. And her Soviet view of the world is dated and unhelpful. Nor has she shined with her tutelage of her star pupil, W.

I do not understand why she is even mentioned as Presidential material, other than that she can tell a boldfaced lie to the camera.

BTW, as far as cabinet members go, Mike Leavitt is the only one I give decent marks to, and that only on bird flu prep.

[emptywheel]

I agree, DemFrom, her inability to fulfill the role of NSC really screwed us. After all, she should have had MORE ability there to set policy than she does at State. Yet Cheney was able to hijack policy and work around her.

But for some reason, the Neocons now see her as an impediment. And if she prevents them from setting off World War III (Newt mentions WWIII again in the article), I'll take it.

I almost gagged, btw, when you brought up Leavitt. I had to live under that man as Governor, remember. Back when he was trying to sell UT wholesale to the mining interests.

[DemFromCT]

he's still a busiess interest republican, but credit where credit is due. I give Rudy high marks for 9/11 even though he was an ass before and since.

[John Casper]

Thanks emptywheel. Who would have thought I would learn to dislike Condi less at tnh?

[Daniel DiRito]

One is inclined to wonder if the delay in U.S. efforts to broker a cease fire in the current Middle East conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is an indication of a waning confidence in the direction of the efforts of the Secretary of State as well as some further expanding neoconservative influence with the President. The fact that the administration has indicated that there must be an enduring solution rather than any rapid efforts to negotiate a cease fire seems to support the neoconservative belief that threats must be dealt with from a position of strength...even if that includes a lengthier period of military engagement. The delay in dispatching Rice to the region seems to be significant.

Read the full article here:

www.thoughttheater.com

[knut wicksell]

She's clearly incompetent, and was incompetent at the NSC. She has been in way over her head since the get-go. The incompetence of Rumsfeld, Cheney and the group of associated crazies who executed the coup d'état on the Federal Government is of an entirely different order of magnitude. It's more like the Nazi's coup d'état in 1933. Magnificently executed as seizure of power; massively incompetent in its deployment.

[John Casper]

I agree she's clearly incompetent. She also appears to understand the danger to Israel if the government in Lebanon collapses as the Palistinain's already has. IMO, this makes her seriously less incompetent than Rummy, DeadEye, Negroponte, and everyone else.
As emptywheel has taught us, these people haven't figured out they are in a 4G war. Supremacy on land, air, and sea doesn't matter. They are all fighting Hitler when Chamberlain's appeasement policy failed in a 3G context. Chamberlain was wrong, but that was 70 years ago, wrong war boys.

[demtom]

Rice has always got a major pass from the press, who, I think, admire her "poise" and "breeding", and consider incompetence or job results off-limits for dicussion (don't you know it's partisan to judge on issues?).

All that said, she scares me less than the more-incompetent/insane policy-setters who hover behind her. It's kind of like when people hoped Al Haig was setting standards during the Reagan era: because the other options were completely off the deep end.

[emptywheel]

I should clarify that my point in posting this was not to argue for Condi's competence. But look at the terms that the Neocons have used to argue for her incompetence:

• Consultation with Congress
• Moderation with Israel
• A commitment to diplomacy

I agree with all of you that all of these people are incompetent. But at least with Condi's current incompetence, it limits the damage their incompetence will do. In this day and age, any way we can interrupt the Neocon plans, I'll take.

[DemFromCT]

LOL. demtom reframes the question properly:

Pick Your Insane Cabinet Member

Yeah, I'll accept that Condi is less insame than some of the others. Great standards we go by these days, huh?

[margaret]

Oh, for the days of Secretary of State Brzezinski. Read his take on the situation in the Middle East at http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/, today. Absolutely on target and with a sense of the whole situation, not just parts of it.
Why aren't there intelligent thinkers like this in government right now?

[DemFromCT]

Because President Insecure doesn't like to be overshadowed.

[teacherken]

umm Margaret -- Zbiggie was never SecState -- he was National Security Advisor

Carter's Secstate was Cyrus Vance until he resigned in 1980, to be succeeded by Ed Muskie

[catastrophile]

And here we thought that having Rice as the SoS would stop the rest of the administration trying to undermine any and all diplomatic efforts.

[emptywheel]

catastrophile

Cheney and friends probably thought they were sidelining Rice by getting her into State. For the last several Presidencies, it has been the NSA who was the powerful figure, not State. State's where you put figureheads to make them irrelvant (see also Powell, Colin). That she (seems to) have managed to sidetrack the Neocon project is almost certainly more a testament to her relationship with Bush than the strength of the position.

[catastrophile]

I guess it would be more accurate to say that I thought having Rice in the position would preclude any diplomatic efforts that the rest of the administration needed to sideline. It was amazing to watch Powell come out over and over again with statements that would then be immediately contradicted or downplayed by the administration. When Rice took over I sort of assumed they were taking Newt's advice and converting State to a department of global propaganda.

[emptywheel]

That's what they thought. But they forgot that Bush values loyalty above all else. Which means Condi has an inside track they didn't account for.

[Deborah]

"Miss Rice also consults regularly with her supporters on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee"

If you wanted to describe what is so wrong with Bushco in a nutshell, there it is. She consults with supporters. No one in this administration is willing to listen to anyone who disagrees with them.

[lukery]

EW - just a side note, you mention that they call her Miss Rice. I noticed a while back that the Washington Times actually rewrites their AP pieces so that they can call her Miss Rice. Hysterical. e.g. WashTimes vs AP

[lilnubber]

Um, Insight IS the Washington Times. Go to insightmag.com and click on "About Us."

[margaret]

teacherken, thanks for the lesson on Brzezinski..just a mind hiccup from an old lady...he always loomed so large in those days, that it seemed as if he was a much more important player vis-a-vis foreign policy...certainly, he was stronger in his position than Dr. Rice is in hers.

[Sara]

Depending on how the Senate Races come out this fall, (Republican Control v Dem Control) I expect to see Rumsfeld decide to spend more time with Mrs. Rumsfeld. Here's why. Senator Warner is scheduled to leave chairmanship of Armed Services in January, with Hagle taking the Republican leadership spot. Warner has been pushing against Rummy for some time, and I think he wants to leave the Senate and take DOD -- that is assuming his leaving would not turn over control of the Senate to the Dem's -- remember Gov. of VA is a Dem. I have a feeling there is not a lot of lost love among many Senate Republicans and the Neocon's, and they would like to take a bite out of them.

This could also happen if the Dem's gain control of the Senate of course, it just won't happen if the resignation would flip control.

One theme I expect to see being pushed harder over the next months is how Bush's following the Neocon policy has resulted in the strengthening of the Shias Crescent as they call it. "Why have we fought a war to strengthen Iran's hand in the region?" -- it rings almost as well as "Who Lost China" did back in the 50's.

[emptywheel]

Sara

Is it Hagel or McCain who gets Armed Services?

[Sara]

I am fairly certain the succession goes to Hagle. (Of course I expect to see Senator Levin as chair come next January.)