Condi job

In 1987, Oliver North testified that Congress could not be trusted with classified information, citing leaked details of the Achille Lauro operation. In fact, the man who leaked those sensitive military data was none other than Oliver North himself. Did this blatant act of hypocrisy make North a detested figure?

No. To the contrary: Oliver North gained great popularity. His impassioned propaganda for the contra cause convinced a majority of the American population that this country needed to intervene in Central American civil warfare. Image ruled the day. North appeared the very model of the American fighting man, while his inquisitors -- particularly counsel Arthur Liman -- became the national poster boys for lawyerly pettiness. Testimony that some liberals had hoped (and even, god help us, advertised) would bring down the Reagan administration ended up helping to elect George Bush the elder.

Did this history repeat itself in today's interrogation of Condoleezza Rice?

I believe that she testified in a misleading fashion, claiming (for example) that she did not receive a memo from Richard Clarke that he did, in fact, send her. Over the next few days, liberal web sites (including this one) will point out these inconsistencies and problems. These efforts serve a valuable purpose. But I doubt whether any internet responses to Rice will counteract the overall impact of her testimony, which should give George W. Bush's re-election numbers a significant boost.

She was not so confident as she might have been. She did not demolish her opponents. But she held her own, appearing poised and articulate, while her interrogators made the inevitable segue into the Liman-esque hair-splitter role. Relatively few people in this country will pay any attention to the problematic aspects of her testimony. Millions will simply nod and say: "She did well."

Image is all.

I now feel less likely to suggest that she will take the vice-presidential oath of office in January of 2005. I am more confident -- and more fearful -- than ever before that George W. Bush will once more be sworn in as president.