Questions for Condi

It's Confirmation for Condi time, and I almost feel sorry for the lady.

Almost.

But not quite.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) was the designated attack dog in today's confirmation hearings. Not hard to figure out why: A white, male Democrat launching on the first black, female nominee for Secretary of State would go over about like fried rat for dinner.

Quoth Condi: "I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity ..."

Yes, I'm sure she did hope that. And she substantially got her wish. Boxer mentioned the inconsistencies in Rice's (and others') stories leading up to the invasion of Iraq and the failure of any of those stories to pan out in the real world. But she didn't move in for the kill. There's probably a reason for that -- if Senate Democrats wear the velvet glove now, they can bring out the pincers and tongs after State's first big screwup under Rice's leadership, and claim to have given her a fair shake.

This nomination should be the second filibuster of the year (after Gonzales). It won't be, of course, but it should be. There's a thin line between Democrats giving Republicans the rope to hang themselves with and Democrats helping Republicans hang all of us.