Part of the DC evaluation of Condi on the Hot Seat Day will be the inevitable fussy Tom Shales TV review in the WashPost. He grades Condi well:
As usual, Rice was a model of dignity and composure, even when some commissioners got testy. Rice is the subtly snippy sort. She can, and did, issue such retorts as “May I address the question, sir?” and “I would like to answer” and “If you just give me a moment” without sounding surly or raising her voice. She probably could have done the whole thing with a teacup and saucer balanced on her head. She’s that cool.
He also feels compelled to add:
It wouldn’t be unthinkable to call the Bush administration the most vindictive since that of Richard M. Nixon. Rice, however, puts the nicest possible face on that vindictiveness and is easily one of the administration’s most effective communicators. She’s also among the least likely to come off as fanatical, cranky, intemperate, or possessed by the delusion that she and God are on a first-name basis.
How can people score recent historical vindictiveness and leave out the Clintons?