Bush puts african-americans into some of the highest and most important offices in the land (unlike the first black president Clinton) and actually listens to them and respects their opinion (again unlike Clinton) and it is all symbolism? Good lord these MSM writers are dense.

Clarence, my Brother, just what proportion of high profile and important jobs must your people have before they are not symbolic? Surely you must know some African Americans to ask....

But Page makes an important point albeit inadvertently. The Dems have been manipulating the black community with symbols rather than results for decades. Go to black churches, remember the struggle, haul out some Rep mistakes (opposing MLK day, etc) and count up the votes. He's right about the effect of symbols, he's wrong that it is essentially cynical manipulation on the administration's part.

Where he is wrong is that the black community is by and large with the Reps on social issues as well. There is also a good deal of discontent among black entreprenuers about state interference. (Want to get a black woman going? Ask her about cosmetology licensing in her state.)

Colin Powell is quite probably the most powerful black man in all of recorded history.

Condoleeza Rice is unquestionably the most powerful black woman in all of recorded history. (If not now, she surely will be on January 20, 2009, he says in ferverent hope.)

That's gotta count for something with somebody.

Colin Powell is quite probably the most powerful black man in all of recorded history.

Condoleeza Rice is unquestionably the most powerful black woman in all of recorded history. (If not now, she surely will be on January 20, 2009, he says in ferverent hope.)

That's gotta count for something with somebody.

"Colin Powell is quite probably the most powerful black man in all of recorded history."

Powell is the most powerful person in the world right now. The presidency has been his for the asking since the 1990s. That he hasn't asked speaks well of him. Powell in 2008 would be great to lock in the Bush revolution and destroy the left.

So Jeff: if I got five minutes to ask Condi Rice any question I liked, I should ask her about cosmetology licensing?

Colin Powell will make a good running mate for Condi.

Joe, depends on whether you want to get her going. I'm sure she has a horror story about it, they all seem to.

Powell's entire career has been as a professional token. He's barely literate for one thing. However, he doesn't make waves, looks good in the uniform, and follows orders. He is little more than a lawn jockey for the Fortune 500. Had he been White he'd have been 20 and out.

Rice went to the University of Denver. She wouldn't even have been allowed on the Stanford campus much less made a provost were it not for her gender and color, making her a two-fer. She doesn't seem like a bad person, but she's no serious intellect.

I'm not a person who swoons over Powell, but "barely literate?" Tokens aren't made Joint Chief of Staff.

When I read this quote all I could think of saying was..."Well, Duh!"

It's so obvious that only someone carefully schooled in the race politics of the past 40 years could have missed it.

Am I the only one who wants to keep serious intellects out of the whitehouse? And especially people who consider themselves serious intellects.

Chris,

A retired Major General who is a close friend of my dad's was Powell's senior officer for a time and assures me of Powell's dubious grammar, spelling, word usage, etc. It also took Powell 6 years to get out of CUNY.

Bart:

Dubious grammar and word usage is apparently not a disqualification for the presidency these days... I don't know about his writing, but Powell certainly speaks well.

Let the dems critisize him for bad grammer. It will be a beautiful suicide.

>I'm not a person who swoons over Powell,
>but "barely literate?" Tokens aren't made Joint
>Chief of Staff.

Except in Mars Attacks.

"YAK! YAK! YAK YAK YAK! YAK YAK!"

Bart?? bad grammar??? Hey this is the Republican Party we're talking about here. Harding, Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Dan Quayle, both Bushs. It a tradition for crying out loud.

It's one thing to be tongue-tied. It's quite another to have poor word usage, poor grammar, etc when you are writing a report where your readers are expecting to rely on your attention to detail.

Bart:

Graduating from the University of Denver at _eighteen_ means you're not a serious intellect?! That statement is so preposterous on so many levels I just don't know where to start.

Her terminal degree is at Denver. That is what counts in the world of academia.

Let's not forget the other side of the coin as well: when Kerry went looking for a vp candidate, his list was all male, all white. That too, was noticeable....

"That is what counts in the world of academia."

For some reason that doesn't really strike me as being very important.

Powell was a Presidential Fellow back around 1972 or so. Dummies need not apply.

This comment has been deleted for content. Bart, comments of this nature will result in your being banned from commenting at all.

Bart, you strike me as a closet liberal racist. They are doing the best job they can to help protect our country and you are trying to diminish their achievements.

Maybe you should go to the back of the bus.

WHITE DEMOCRATS MALES JUST WANT THE BLACK VOTES BUT WONT DO ANYTHING FOR BLACKS. THEY NEVER APPOINT BLACKS TO HIGH POSITIONS. YET THEY ARE ALWAYS IN BLACK CHURCHES LOOKING FOR VOTES. REV. SHARPTON IS A JOKE. BARAK OBAMA IS ANOTHER JOKE. JESSE JACKSON IS THE BIGGEST JOKE OF ALL.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL NOMINATE CONDOLEEZA RICE FOR PRESIDENT IN 2008. IT WILL BE A WOMAN TO WOMAN RACE FOR THE PRESIDENCY.

Condoleeza Rice for President 2008--I'm a Democrat and I like it--she's got my vote! How wonderful it will be to have those very red states represented by a single, independent, intelligent, black woman. It is time to shut up those white racists who can't even bear the idea of a black person buying a house next door to them and make racist comments like "there goes the neighborhood." Well, what will they say now--"there goes our white male-dominated country!" I love it! Go Condi!

Democrat for Condi

Condoleeza Rice for President 2008--I'm a Democrat and I like it--Condi's got my vote. How great it will be to have those very red states represented by a single, independent, intelligent, black woman. It is about time we end the racist mentality in our country and shut up once and for all those white racists who can't even bear the idea of a black person buying the house next door and making racist comments like--"there goes the neighborhood." What will they say now--"there goes our white male-dominated country?" They will just have to live with their foot in their mouth, since she will advocate for their causes despite their racist ideology! Oh yes, I love it! Go Condi!

Democrat for Condi

Democrats for Condi--President 2008! Go Condi! It's time to bring an end to the white male-dominated government! It's time to shut those hypocrital white men up for good, especially those from really red states! It's time to end racism in our country once and for all. Democrats will switch parties by the millions if Condoleeza Rice runs for President because one of the most important issues for modern Democrats, if not the most important issue, is equality.