New Secretary of State

Condelezza Rice will take over at Secretary of State for the resigning Colin Powell. Condi's worldview is known to differ significantly from the more moderate outlook of Gen. Powell. I am glad that Rice will bring the State Department more in line with the Bush White House, removing a thorn from the side of the Administration. A government with similar goals and philosophies will operate much more efficiently, and critically be better able to make quick adaptations to the ever-morphing nature of the world war on terror. At the same time, I believe we are losing a great asset in General Powell, particularly his role as the dissenting voice in the cabinet. Although Bush was right to pursue his policies over Gen. Powell's objections, the issues Gen. Powell raised fostered necessary debate prior to action. I worry just a little about an administration without dissent. Debate prevents rash decisions and necessarily provides varying perspectives. If everyone is looking in the same direction, there is much that might be missed coming from other corners.

The AP story about Condi's reassignment is notable for its complete failure to mention the fact that she is the first ever black female to hold the post. This is a good sign. We may finally be getting beyond race and moving towards more important issues, such as ideological outlook and past performance. I think this is partly a product of President Bush's regular appointment of minorities to posts of consequence. For instance, today's Wall Street Journal mentioned the likely candidates for open Supreme Court seats. Obviously, with Alberto Gonzalez off to the Attorney General post (BTW, the first Hispanic ever to hold that post), he is out of consideration. But of the eight or so candidates mentioned, at least two were Hispanic, and at least one a female (doh, I left my paper at the office...sorry for less than 100% accurate reporting if my memory fails me). The pattern of appointments of minorities to high administration posts by the current President is either underreported or we have moved just a little closer to a race-free political outlook. Unfortunately, I think it's the former, rather than the latter. And I wouldn't be surprised if the President's party affiliation had something to do with this.