So much for thinking

So Condi Rice pulled it off! - Got herself into the position that she desperately wanted. Now I don't speak idiot, so I find this whole thing rather disturbing. I am a registered Independent. I think some things Red and some things Blue. I pray to the green god that changes depending on the denomination. But I just can't believe that this country can be headed in a positive direction as long as we allow idiots and assholes the opportunity to "lead" us as a nation.
Here are some comments on the whole affair. My favorite? The last one...

By The Associated Press

Quotes from Tuesday's Senate debate on Condoleezza Rice's nomination to be secretary of state:

"We have the responsibility to ensure that our first impulse in foreign affairs is one of bipartisanship. And we have the responsibility to speak plainly when we disagree with the administration, but to avoid inflammatory rhetoric that is designed merely to create partisan advantage or to settle partisan scores." - Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

"As a principal architect of our failed policy, Dr. Rice is the wrong choice for secretary of state. We need instead a secretary who is open to a clearer vision and a better strategy to stabilize Iraq, to work with the international community and to bring our troops home with dignity and honor and to restore our lost respect in the world." - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

"When foreign leaders speak to Condoleezza Rice, they know she is speaking for the president of the United States." - Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

"When will our boys come home?" - Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

"Hers is a remarkable personal story, from her upbringing in Birmingham, Ala., during the era of Bull Connor, to the White House, to her nomination as secretary of state. She is a woman of many parts, an accomplished musician, a leading academic and policy intellectual, and a dedicated public official. This is a nomination all of America can be proud of." - Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

"Dr. Rice's record on Iraq gives me great concern. In her public statements she clearly overstated and exaggerated the intelligence concerning Iraq before the war in order to support the president's decision to initiate military action against Iraq. Since the Iraq effort has run into great difficulty, she has also attempted to revise history as to why we went into Iraq." - Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.

"Brave men and women of color like Dr. Rice have, working with others, changed our nation. And now she can, and I believe will, help lead our nation to change the world and in doing so, to advance our values and protect our security for our children and grandchildren as well." - Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.

"We cannot get the truth from this administration. ... It's wrong, it's immoral, it's un-American, and it has to stop. It stops by not promoting top administration officials who engaged in the practice, who have been instrumental in deceiving Congress and the American people, and regrettably that includes Dr. Rice." - Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn.