Did I say she is the enemy? No. So, please don't put words in my mouth.
Neither does Israel need us to be a Savior. They are doing a superb job of defending themselves.
Any keen observer can see the mission to the ME is a difficult and volatile one. Israel is fighting a particular face of a greater evil. That evil is backed by allies, in the form of nations and terrorist groups.
Israel needs to know, both overtly and covertly, from us that we are still her ally. Demeanor carries as much or more meaning than words, and I think the right sort of man could convey the demeanor better.
Condi is fabulous in many ways, quick thinking, articulate and courageous. I just think she's over her head as SECSTATE and was better suited to her lower-profile NSA position.
Still, I was NOT sad to see Powell go, which should have happened sooner.
That's silly! What "demeanor" does a woman not have to express that the USA is their "ally?" Physical strength? Size is not automatically equated to strength, as we see with the small country of Israel, yet its powerful defense.
Her physical size, looks, have absolutely zero to do with the policies of this country, which instead have boundaries set by our democratically elected leaders, in our representational system. Leaders try to implement plans. It has nothing to do with gender.
Cojones? In my book, Secretary Rice sure had them to be there in the midst of all of this.
It's not "demeanor," which will cause other countries to agree with us. They have to find benefit as to why our plans and ideas will be better than their own plans. Israel knows when we support their actions and when we don't.
Again, if it were a gender issue, if only men were capable of adequately expressing what they expect in behavior of these nations, the men we have had working on the Middle East would have accomplished the tasks. It has nothing to do with gender.
There were female nation leaders mentioned in the Bible, and they were not recorded as something sinful or inadequate for the righteous ruling of a people.
Unintentioned, or intentioned, underestimation of the value of an entire half of the world's population, also created in the image of God, is still misogyny and wrong. Women are guilty of this, as are men.
We judge people based on their actions, not their gender or race.