America, we need to do better.
Last Wednesday, Condoleezza Rice was finally confirmed as the new Secretary of State. Now, this is monumental news. She is the first black woman to ever hold the position. For that, I am happy. She has broken a barrier and made history.
But it should have never occurred.
This is not a question of whether Rice is qualified for the job. On paper, she is a phenomenal candidate. The thing is, everything that looks good is not necessarily good. In looking for someone to help run this country, it is best to look at the track record of the person considered. She, along with President Bush, sold the idea of Operation Freedom, the war in Iraq. She helped to plan it. Now she refuses to accept responsibility for all that has occurred or to even acknowledge that the invasion was a mistake.
That should not have shocked anyone. In fact, that seems to be the unifying factor with the members of the Bush administration. Their motto should be “do any and every thing we consider best and deny, deny, deny when it turns sour.”
It is enough that we have to deal with a president that continues to do that same, tired song and dance. We hardly need to endure the same treatment from the secretary of state.
Some people believe that the Democrats did not do enough to stop the confirmation. I believe there was nothing to be done to stop that from occurring. After all, the man who nominated her is very good at making things swing his way.
However, I am disappointed with how jaded the Republicans are not considering the validity of the arguments the Democrats aimed against her.
Apparently, the consensus among the Republicans is that the Democrats are upset over the outcome of the election. It seems to me the Democrats just wanted at least one person on the Bush administration to tell the truth. They needed someone to admit mistakes were made. They needed someone to admit that their moves were hasty and unfounded. The Democrats did make a mistake in this, though. They actually trusted Rice to tell the truth. When dealing with a person who believes in the Bush’s policies, one can hardly expect truths to be disclosed.
A national official should be one that we as Americans can trust and support. We should be able to stick with our officials. We should have confidence in their ability to do the job set before them. We have already been cheated of that in the 2004 presidential election. It seems that we have been cheated of this again in the choice of secretary of state. Something has to give.
Charlynique Reynolds is a sophomore English student from Miami. Contact her at famuanopinions@hotmail.com.We have to do better.