Is Condi cracking the whip?

Believe me, Condi, this time I’m on your side. I have nothing against dominatrices*. Even the notable Katrina vanden Heuvel referred to your “dominatrix black boots” in her April 30 post, The New Cold War.

And way back in February of 2005, at KorlaPundit.blogspot.com, the blame was squarely placed on the Washington Post for linking your name to “dominatrix.”

Why am I on your side? Because it looks like I was wrong when I posted this on May 25, speculating that in a battle between you and Vice-President Dick Cheney, he would win. If you’re cracking the whip and it’s working, more power to you!

The mainstream media may have it right this time. Yesterday, the New York Times reported, U.S. Not Pushing for Attack on Iran, Rice Says. From Madrid: “Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought today to minimize any sense of division within the Bush administration over Iran after the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency delivered a pointed new warning against what he called the “new crazies” pushing for military action against Tehran.

“The President of the United States has made it clear that we are on a course that is a diplomatic course,” Ms. Rice said here. 'That policy is supported by all of the members of the cabinet, and by the vice president of the United States.'”

For those of you who aren’t sure about the impact of bloggers on the mainstream media, the article adds, “Reports about hawkish statements by members of Mr. Cheney’s staff first surfaced last week in The Washington Note, a blog run by Steve Clemons of the left-leaning New America Foundation. The report has alarmed European diplomats, some of whom fear that the struggle over Iran’s nuclear program may evolve into a decision by the Bush administration to resort to force against Iran.

“In interviews, people who have spoken with Mr. Cheney’s staff have confirmed the broad outlines of the report, and said that some of the hawkish statements to outsiders were made by David Wurmser, a former Pentagon official who is now the principal deputy assistant to Mr. Cheney for national security affairs. The accounts were provided by people who expressed alarm about the statements, but refused to be quoted by name. "

The blog referred to above is the one I posted about on May 25.

And today, in the Washington Post article, Cheney Backs Diplomacy on Iran Program, Rice Affirms confirmed Condi’s claim that she has reined Cheney and his acolytes in.

So I’m relieved. In yesterday’s post, Steve Clemons described Condi Rice as one of “[t]he constructive players in the administration." And Steve is pleased, because today he posted Reverberations about the mainstream media picking up on his previous post about Cheney’s possible plotting to do an “end run” around Bush to provoke a war with Iran.

*Sidebar: I’ve only met one dominatrix in my life, a likeable woman, demurely dressed in white, from a perky hat to a well-tailored jacket and pants with a pink scarf around her neck. So I didn’t have any negative feelings later when I saw her perform at an event (see photo below).

(photo of Condi in leather – courtesy of KorlaPundit.blogspot.com)