A Sharp Drop in Schadenfreude

The monsoon that took up residence over New York seems to have moved on, the children yelling outside are playing red light-green light, the permanent block-party denizens are playing cards rather than watching fights on TV, and, with a number of conservatives finally admitting that there may be some rethinking to do in our Iraq strategy,* I'm feeling generous and friendly.

So when I ran across this "Caption this photo" post on Shakespeare's Sister, my first response was to think: My goodness, Condeleeza Rice is a beautiful woman.

Bad liberal! Bad! I should either be grimly impervious to her appearance or use my special Leftwing Goggles to see only the evil and/or incompetence in her soul! But, from time to time, a good shot just catches you in a weak moment, and you find yourself thinking, Man, it's kinda cool that we have a gorgeous, middle-aged black woman as our Secretary of State.

Of course in the linked-to picture, she's grinning at Rumsfeld and Bush, who don't even have aesthetics going for them.


[Update: BAGnewsnotes and readers attempt to read the photo's significance here. They point out that Rice sure couldn't have walked far on that gravel road in open-toed heels, that the composition suggests a wedding scene, and that the photo (and photographer) is very very French.]

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*The immediate causes of the reconsidering furor seem to be twofold: a William Kristol article urging resolution and Rumsfeld's firing, and a Washington Post article quoting a "senior Administration official" (whom some believe to be Rumsfeld) on redefined objectives.