A "token" candidate? Where on earth does that come from?
If you want to know where Condi's views are - it's easy enough to find out. The woman has written several books and numerous articles. She has more foreign affairs experience than any of these Republican Governors - who have NONE!
I suggest you take a look at her biography and look at her resume. It's quite impressive and VERY heavy on foreign affairs.
Where do you come off saying that I "don't know where she is on the issues?" She has certainly given enough speeches and written enough to give a very clear idea of her views. What is "shallow" about that?
You claim that Condi is too "Arabist" to do any good with the War on Terror! Condi - "Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame sentiments and to use this (Danish cartoons) to their own purposes - and the world ought to call them on it."
That doesn't sound very "arabist" to me!
I suggest you go to the website "Rice2008.com" and read through some of her interviews. If you still don't know what her views are - then you're not paying attention.
The litmus test for who would make a good President should not be where do they stand on abortion - but where do they stand on protecting our nation from terrorism. I believe Dr. Rice has made her intentions quite clear in that area.
My choice of Condi has nothing to do with race or sex. It has everything to do with:
a) who is strong enough to protect this country.
b) who can actually win an election.
Those too far on the right will never win the votes of the great "undecided". Condi could win those votes.
"A "token" candidate? Where on earth does that come from?"
It comes from the very fact that those touting this never-elected foreign policy expert and SectyofState bring up that she is black female - and then make the absurd claim that the only reason to oppose her is those same gender/race 'qualifications'. In my book, they matter not a wit, and it's grossly unfair to accuse skeptics like me of such a thing.
Now as to her real qualifications:
"If you want to know where Condi's views are - it's easy enough to find out. The woman has written several books and numerous articles."
So has Brent Scowcroft, but nobody's floating his name.
I'd grant that she is a foreign policy expert, but she is known to be non-conservative on some issues and is a complete unknown on many others.
"The litmus test for who would make a good President should not be where do they stand on abortion - but where do they stand on protecting our nation from terrorism. I believe Dr. Rice has made her intentions quite clear in that area."
I dont believe in any 'litmus test' but someone who is good on one issue, like GWOT, is not necessarily a good Republican candidate. Even Joe Lieberman is good on GWOT issues, but he's a dyed-in-wool liberal Democrat.
Where is Condi on immigration, life, govt spending, affirmative action and 'diversity' quotas, supreme court nominations, earmarks, eminent domain, farm subsidies, energy policy, drilling in ANWR, tariffs, taxation policy? Will she push for a line item veto and be a fiscal conservative? Can she push back on Democrat demagoguery?
"You claim that Condi is too "Arabist" to do any good with the War on Terror! "
Yes, 'Arabist' is too harsh on her, although not on her mentor Scowcroft. Condi has been good on many things and is a good Secty of State, but she is sticking to the same failed script of State Dept diplomacy on the Israeli-Palestinian question and shows no sign of going outside the box: She pushed for Palestinian elections that gave us Hamas, and pushed for rights of passage for Palestinians that created no momentum for Palestinian concessions... see for example:
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/singer200511170902.asp
We are actually going backwards on Palestine - after almost a billion dollars in US and EU aid, that rump state is more radicalized, hateful of Israel and violent as ever. I believe that this is a consequence of failed State Dept thinking and policies that she has done little to change.
That issue plus the many unknown positions *plus* the obvious fact that she has no interest in the position leave me befuddled by the attention given to the possibility.
It's not going to happen, and is the kind of novelty idea that may pan out or may go sour quickly.