There’s Something About Condi

She came, she saw — and she got clobbered by Democrats.

Condoleezza Rice visited Congress yesterday to start her confirmation hearings for her new job as Secretary of State. And if she expected that it was going to be love-fest, she was in for a biiiiiiiiig surprise.

Key Democrats pounded her on her past statements on weapons of mass destruction, whether there was a timetable for pulling out of Iraq, and a host of other issues. Perhaps the most quoted and broadcast exchange was between Rice and California Senator Barbara Boxer. Here’s how MSNBC described it:

Many Democrats were skeptical. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., confronted Rice with her own words to argue that as Bush’s national security adviser, she had contradicted herself on Saddam’s weapons capabilities.

“You sent them [U.S. troops] in there because of weapons of mass destruction. Later, the mission changed when there were none,� Boxer told Rice.

“It wasn’t just weapons of mass destruction,� Rice responded, saying Saddam supported terrorism, attacked Kuwait and Israel, and needed to be removed given the new U.S. threat

Rice was visibly irked when Boxer said, “I personally believe — this is my personal belief — that your loyalty to this mission to sell this war overwhelmed your respect for the truth.�

“We can have this discussion in any way that you would like, but I really hope you will refrain from impugning my integrity,� Rice replied. “I really hope that you will not imply that I take the truth lightly.�

When you read the full text of the Boxer-Rice exchange you realize: Rice will not get a free ride  during Bush’s second term. She may have political credit in the bank with Republicans, but Democrats will not be hold any verbal fire. As Betty Davis once said: "Fasten your seatbelts…"

And then there was Senator John Kerry, talking an even tougher line than during his unsuccessful Presidential election campaign:

Kerry, D-Mass., in his first appearance at the Foreign Relations Committee since his unsuccessful presidential bid, was withering in his criticism, stating that he was reserving a decision on whether to vote for Rice.

Kerry was particularly critical of Rice’s answers to Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., on the number of trained Iraqi forces and the U.S. exit strategy in Iraq.

Rice said she felt that troop strength going into Iraq was adequate and that “we think the number [of Iraqi forces] right now is somewhere over 120,000.�

There are several issues at play here:

1. In a way, for the Demcrats it’s too little, too late. Rice will not only be confirmed but she’s likely to  have more influence with Bush than Colin Powell did. And — if it goes well — she will could come out of Bush’s second term as a political figure primed for elected office.
2. In another sense, the Democrats have to stake out their turf. They are an opposition party — and in a democracy it is their RIGHT and some say DUTY to raise pointed questions (look at what goes on in England’s Parliament during the question sessions with the Prime Minister). They also have a base increasingly angry about and opposing the war. Plus, with much news out of Iraq troubling, the Democrats are seemingly laying the groundwork for saying "I told you so" if things get worse.
3. This may not play well with much of the American public. On the other hand, with skepticism over the war fairly strong, the Democrats are drawing boundries between their tough questions and many GOPers’ blanket support of administration war policies.