Is George W Bush the most enlightened President in U.S. history, with his apparent determination to build a Cabinet of minorities and women?
Or is he simply installing the people he feels least dominance-challenged around?
(And will the press even ask such a question?)
There is no doubting the intelligence or education of Gonzales or Rice, even if Rice's education would be more appropriate for a Cold War SoS. But where are the dominance and Leader Persona so critical to an AG and especially to a wartime Secretary of State when U.S. influence is flagging around the world?
The typical SoS is someone to whom all heads turned when they entered the room even before they became SoS. Rice is the opposite -- she telegraphs "assistant" with her entire demeanor and body language. If it wasn't obvious before her 9/11 Commission testimony, it certainly was thereafter.
How is a Sec. Rice going to accomplish in the world what a Colin Powell was unable to do?
I'll be watching the upcoming nominations with interest to see whether they are alpha-type Leader Personas or the beholden beta-type sycophants that Bush feels least threatened by.
Can he even attract any alphas at this point?