As Ryan wrote earlier in an excellent piece, Susan Rice has withdraw her name for consideration for Secretary of State. Immediately, the liberal media began speculating about the power of the conservative media and the lies that were spread. Let’s talk about what really happened. What does this tell us?

Susan Rice official State Dept photo portrait 2009

First, we should review the basic facts that made her promotion problematic. Following the murders of the US Ambassador to Libya and three others in Benghazi, Obama knew that he had to put someone on the Sunday talk shows. Rather than put someone on television with direct or indirect responsibility for the fiasco, why choose the UN Ambassador? Well, first Hillary Clinton refused to be interviewed. Obama at that point needed to stay on the good side of her and her husband to win re-election, and she has her reverential claque in the media (both left and right), so that was alright. I assume that General Petraeus was then asked by the administration. But he has always also been the darling of both conservatives and liberals; apparently he was also dreaming of being chosen as the 2016 Republican Presidential nominee (remember, this is prior to his affair had been revealed). So nobody has ever publicly asked Petraeus what really happened for fear of what it might do to his career. He apparently refused as well.

So then Rice went on talk shows and strictly adhered to the ridiculous talking points provided by the CIA. John McCain and a few other Republicans attacked her statements since they were obviously false. Well, people always say false things on television. One of my personal heroes, Colin Powell, made one of the goofiest speeches of all time at the UN, where he made it clear that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which directly led to our decade long silly adventure in that nation. I understood why he did so. People sometimes do what they’re ordered to do, either that or resign. After 9-11, Powell didn’t want to resign because of the signals it would have sent, so he gave a speech based upon talking points provided him by the CIA. If he didn’t know then that he was played, he knew soon after.

But even when a few other Republicans decided to attack Rice, why was she forced to withdraw? Let’s face it…there will only be 45 Republicans in the Senate next month. The likelihood that they would stick together to defeat one black woman nominee is preposterous. She might have had a tough confirmation hearing, but would have been chosen. But when Obama refused to vehemently defend her, Rice was forced out. All through his first term, Obama was rolled, by the Democrats in Congress his first two years, by the GOP in the second two years. The man rarely if ever stands up for what he believes.

So now John Kerry will get the Secretary of State nomination, Scott Brown will be elected to the Senate, and it just became much easier for the Republicans to take over the Senate in two years.