Comments on: What Are Little Girls Made Of

By: jamiet

jamiet — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:38:08 +0000

I think anyone who agrees – not just in theory but in practice – to humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect will have their patience tried. if i remember correctly, rice has been outspoken on the need for such interventions.

i suppose we’ll find out

By: Spencer Ackerman

Spencer Ackerman — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:46:39 +0000

Rice is tight with Tim Wurth, the former undersecretary of state for global affairs who’s now at the UN Foundation. I’d bet he’d be able to help plot strategy for managing the UN, give the current lay of the SC & the GA, and advise on who to marginalize/coopt/undermine from the start. Why don’t you think Rice has the patience for the UN? Just curious, as I’ve not heard that before.

By: jamiet

jamiet — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:43:53 +0000

at the risk of defending john bolton – wait, did i say that? – i’m not sure anyone in even the obama administration has the patience to deal with the gallery of nincompoops that inhabits UN headquarters. not even rice. ESPECIALLY not rice. these people are surreal.

By: jwb81

jwb81 — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:57:03 +0000

Not ”lexicographic,” but phallogocentric. Great post.

By: doctorscience

doctorscience — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:15:37 +0000

Actually, I think it’s a matter of “what little boys *aren’t* made of”. Diplomacy requires that one *not* be a
http://www.kitwhitfield.com/2008/03/macho-sue.html
Macho Sue, who never has to negotiate, give way, or say he’s sorry. To put a white male in such a position either threatens his sacred manhood, or else — as with John Bolton at the UN — indicates that you have no respect for the people you’re dealing with.

It’s been over 10 years since there’s been a white male as US Secretary of State, and this means something. It’s not because it’s a second-rate position, it’s because white male dominance has become so fragile that no white male can do the job and /k/e/e/p /h/i/s /d/i/c/k be respected.

By: macaquerman

macaquerman — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:49:23 +0000

Ms. Carpentier, with her use of logic and common sense, misses the point entirely. The last eight year of striving have established a precedent, appointing Clinton is proof he’s not a progressive. NEVER GO BACK!!!!!
Impeach Obama now!

By: CaelanAegana

CaelanAegana — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:55:18 +0000

A psychology professor of mine gave a lecture about the differing adaptabilities of the sexes. Studies have shown that in cultures across the globe, men tend to play exactly the same role in society (warrior/hunter/aggressor) while women’s roles differ enormously (from warrior to caregiver to scholar, dominant to submissive, independent to slave-like). This leads to the theory that women, on the whole, are more psychologically adaptable than men. I think Hilary has shown to be an excellent example of this.

So claiming that the Secretary of State’s job is woman-friendly isn’t necessarily so inaccurate. The truly insulting part is the implication that this “girly” flexibility is inferior.

Different roles, different goals. Pick the best person for the job. That seems to be exactly what Obama has done.

By: Phoenix Woman

Phoenix Woman — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:12:26 +0000

Obama spent his entire campaign showing what “soft power” was all about. Maureen Dowd, who writes as if she has more internalized woman-hate than a battalion of Jack the Rippers, thought he was being “Obambi” and that he was too “feminine” even as Hillary was too “masculine”.

By: johnSwifty22

johnSwifty22 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:05:06 +0000

There is nothing soft about Hillary Clinton and anyone who thinks so is making a mistake. If I worry about Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, it is for reasons quite the opposite that she might be perceived as soft.

I would not want to sit across the table from her as she practiced her particularly hardnosed brand of brinksmanship; however, the secret to brinksmanship is the ability to drive a situation to the brink of disaster and then knowing exactly when to pull back from that brink. If I worry anything about Hillary Clinton, it is that she would not be cognizant of when the brink was crossed. That being said, if Barrack Obama is able to assert the kind of command over the office that he purports to possess, then it will be his judgment to determine those brinks, and his judgment has thus far proved to be sound on many occasions. Still, the brinks promise to be many and more jagged than a President of the United States has ever faced. Wish him luck, wisdom and godspeed. Wish her the same and humility and patience.

By: Dust

Dust — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:29:00 +0000

Well, the answer is simple - thanks for making me twist my thinking to contemplate new thoughts.

Bush put a black man in

Then he put a Black WOMEN in.

You either have to give him credit for putting the best PERSON in the role, despite their race or gender, or take credit away from him and belittle the role. 2+2=4