Condi Rice gets a C-

Newsmax offers their assessment Condoleeza Rice and her performance as Secretary of State:

Condoleezza Rice arrived in Foggy Bottom in January 2005 to a standing ovation.

With critics of the Iraq War still a marginal faction of the liberal left, the new secretary of state was an international star in an administration that had few. Supporters urged her to consider a 2008 run for president as chatter of “Condi vs. Hillary” filled the airwaves.

Three years and more than 60 global trips later, Rice’s profile has plummeted, even among the conservatives who once viewed her as their ideological savior and soulmate.

In light of her changing image, Newsmax decided to take a hard look at Rice’s performance and issue a report card on her efforts to date. Her results have been mixed at best, which is reflected in our overall grade of “C-.”

I think Newsmax is overly harsh on Condi. As the events this week in Pakistan make glaringly clear, the message we send out to the world is inconsistent. When it came to the choice between dictator and democracy, we chose dictator. We then sent Musharraf more of our money. It's no wonder Putin makes Condi "outside his Moscow office like a pesky salesman peddling office supplies."

Maybe in a world where the dollar is being abandoned as the world's reserve currency, and our economy is on the verge of collapse, and the Great War on Terror is percieved by some of our friends and all of our enemies as American empire building. Maybe Condi is peddling something nobody wants.