The Poet's Eye 
        commentary by Lightning Rod

the Poets' Eye is skeptical
without being cynical, innocent
without being naive and
critical without being
judgmental

 

Nigah, Pleeeza
for release on 11-18-04

I wonder what Oprah thinks about Condoleeza Rice? Of course Oprah would never say anything bad about Condi or Colin Powell either. Oprah won't even say an unkind word about a hamburger. But in her heart of hearts, I'll bet she feels somewhat like Malcolm X did:

“There was two kinds of slaves. There was the house Negro and the field Negro. The house Negroes - they lived in the house with master, they dressed pretty good, they ate good 'cause they ate his food -- what he left. They lived in the attic or the basement, but still they lived near the master; and they loved their master more than the master loved himself. They would give their life to save the master's house quicker than the master would. The house Negro, if the master said, "We got a good house here," the house Negro would say, "Yeah, we got a good house here." Whenever the master said "we," he said "we." That's how you can tell a house Negro.”

Both Powell and Rice are extremely personable (in an Al Jolson kind of way) and convincing talking heads. It has been very handy for this administration to have them in the house. It gives George Bush an out when he is accused of Texas racial prejudice. He can say with credulity, "I don't have anything against Negroes, hell, I think everybody should own a few."

George Bush certainly owns Condi and Colin.

The last words Powell said to Bush before delivering the bald faced lies he told to the United Nations must have been, "Yowsa massa." Because Powell surely knew that he was committing political suicide with his disingenuous testimony before the world, complete with phony charts and pictures and it really killed me when he brandished the cocaine vial full of placebo anthrax. That's the kind of loyalty you can expect from a good House Negro. Powell arguably enjoyed the most respect among the members of the administration at that time and he was willing to sacrifice that respect in service of the Massa.

Condoleeza can pass for a Republican, but she is really only Georgie's work-out partner, and I can only imagine that sexy little gap in Condi's teeth straddling the vein on top of the Presidential Penis. She must be better than Monica, because it certainly wasn't her job performance that has earned her a promotion from the basement to the pantry...er...I mean Cabinet. She told the Congress, as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, that nobody had any IDEA before 9/11 that anyone would fly a jet into a building. This is while she had a memo on her desk entitled, “Bin Laden determined to attack America”, which specifically mentioned airplanes as missile weapons.

But the first job of a House Negro is to look like you are busy. Condi comes off well on Meet the Press. She is quite convincing, even though she shakes her head 'no' when she means 'yes.' If she could just tear up every now and then like Oprah, then she would have all the red states in her pocket. But she sure missed the ball when, as National SECURITY Advisor, she let that memo lay on her desk. She's loyal and gives good head, so she deserves a promotion. I'm not trying to cast her as Sally Hemmings or anything. I certainly have no proof that Georgie Boy is playing doctor with Dr. Rice, but like Thomas Jefferson told George Bush in a dream one night, "Democracy moves is strange ways. Try a circular motion."

Bear in mind that, as Secretary of State, Condi will be fourth in line of presidential succession. If Georgie Boy chokes to death on a pretzel and Dick Cheney's pacemaker gets jammed by the CIA and Dennis Hastert has a mysterious car wreck, then Condi is President. Think about it. This is the Soviet expert who didn't foresee the fall of the Soviet Union. This is a woman who owes her entire political career to Bush. She loves the master more than he loves himself. This is the National Security Advisor who had no clue that Bin Laden was plotting foul play even after being warned in writing. But you have to give her an A for loyalty, and that's qualification #1 to work in this administration.

It is nothing new for there to be a turnover in a Cabinet when a president is re-elected. At one time the entire cabinet was expected to resign so that the President, at his pleasure, could re-appoint or replace them. But still, the current turnover brings to my mind the image of rats deserting a sinking ship. Ashcroft goes because he knows he is no longer useful as a pap to the Christian Right. Powell says sayanora because he knows that American foreign policy is a joke in shambles. There is a purge going on in the CIA to unseat the disloyal. The cadre is tightening. The House Negroes are jockeying for position in the second Bush term. If you can say, "Yowsa Massa," then you're hired. (Karl Rove as Simon LeGree? Don't even go there.)

The Poet's Eye sees the same thing that any Southern Planter knows---good House Negroes are hard to find, so you had better keep the ones you have.

The Poet's Eye
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