TheInquiringEye promises never to hate you.

I was with you all the way up to point #4

Condolezza Rice headed the NSA when we were sure "there are WMD's in Iraq". She also had acute but deaf ear to the rumblings about planes, buildings and Saudi "pilots in training school thing".

Equally adept at mangling America's Intelligence gathering George Tenet was honored with the highest honor bestowed on nonmilitary citizens (the Medal of Freedom) for having so skillfully managed our pre-war intel (okay, he's a whitey).

Having steered that brain-trust so well she then got elevated to Secretary of State (you know that whole merit based promotion THANG) and I'll leave it to you to decide how our standing in the world has faired during her tenure. However, based on the yardstick previously employed...no wonder GOP'ers were looking to her as a VP option.

He had Colin Powell at his side when it was politically advantageous to do so, then when Powell had the audacity to say "the Emperor has no clothes" (ie; you need more that 120K troops in Iraq) he gets tossed because "Rummy had it right".

Gonzalez was blatant cronyism (although you called out he being a possible poor example.

You also missed Harriet (I've never seen a Constitutional Loop Hole I can't shimmy through) Meyers...his 1st choice for Supreme Court Justice now turned to defendant in a Congressional Lawsuit for Failure to Appear.

I'll take a color blind but talent scout savvy administrator if you please. GWB is neither.

Anita

Snow covered yurts?