THE NEW FACE OF THE G.O.P. — Condi Rice? They could do worse. And probably will!

UPDATE: Reader Rose Hughes emails:

All this isn’t about racism – it is about elitism.

The “powers that be” – right AND left – have decided that a black woman will never get elected regardless of her intellect and experience. I’m sure that, if asked, they would tell you it is because of those clinging to guns and religion would never stand for it.

Yet, in the boonies where I live, I heard Condi Rice mentioned as a great candidate before I ever heard the name of Barak Obama. I always get the sense that Obama’s speeches are to show how much smarter he is than us because they seldom say much. Rice, who is so much smarter than many of us, communicates content because she has nothing to prove about how smart she is.

Yes, folks on the right and left “leadership’ consistently underestimate ordinary Americans. In both cases, I suspect they’re still compensating for social awkwardness in high school . . . .

ANOTHER UPDATE: Col. Douglas Mortimer writes:

Dude. Among the bitter clingers I know, and I know some real ones, Condi is a genuine hero. She’s pro-gun, goes to church, is conservative enough, and looks great in a pair of high heeled black leather boots. She is like a GOP Halley Berry. Hubba hubba hubba.

Heh.

SCOTT OTT on cutting government spending.

TOM MAGUIRE: “Even the NY Times cannot fail to notice that Obama is wrestling with himself on Afghanistan . . . . I’m glad they explained that, or cynics might have thought it was due to Obama’s sagging poll numbers and a need to placate the left during the healthcare debacle.”

JOHN FUND: Obama’s ACORN connections. “Mr. Obama took great pains to act as if he barely knew about Acorn. In fact, his association goes back almost 20 years.”

OOPS: Budget chief contradicts Obama on Medicare costs. “Congress’ chief budget officer is contradicting President Barack Obama’s oft-stated claim that seniors wouldn’t see their Medicare benefits cut under a health care overhaul. The head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, told senators Tuesday that seniors in Medicare’s managed care plans would see reduced benefits under a bill in the Finance Committee.”

MARCHING FOR HONDURAN DEMOCRACY, in St. Louis.

UPDATE: More here.

“SMART DIPLOMACY:” Obama grants visa to Burmese junta member — but not to Honduran leaders.

ANDREW KLAVAN: The Art of Corruption and the NEA.

BOINGBOING TV on synesthesia.

STACY MCCAIN: Can’t All Conservatives At Least Agree That Glenn Beck Is Not The Enemy? “You can’t build a successful movement by a process of subtraction. The urge-to-purge approach to coalition politics simply doesn’t work, which is why winners avoid it.”

“A SMALL — IF FAIRLY MEANINGLESS — SHRED OF COMPASSION.” Emily Bazelon responds to me on the Hofstra fake-rape case.

UPDATE: Sort-of-related: One in 20 UK women has never had sex while sober. “Almost half of those questioned said they preferred sex while under the influence of alcohol because it helped them to lose their inhibitions and be more adventurous. Researchers, who surveyed 3,000 women aged between 18 and 50, found the average woman has slept with eight men, but was drunk with at least five of them. On two of these occasions they couldn’t even remember the man’s name the next day.”

SLATE: THE GROWING AMBITIONS OF THE FOOD POLICE: “Liberals like to talk about a Republican war on science, but it turns out that they’re just as willing to bend facts. In wars of piety, science has no friends.”

Plus, Don’t Let Them Eat Cake: “Doughnuts are a drug; brioche is a treat. Some tastes, it seems, are more equal than others.”

BOILERPLATE: History’s Mechanical Marvel.

SMART GIRL POLITICS: The Insta-Wife talks with Michelle Malkin about women, tea parties, the Culture of Corruption, and who’s fighting it. “Go to any Tea Party and you see an increasing number of young women in the movement.” Plus, the power of Twitter.

A POOR SUBSTITUTE: Politico: Tele-Town Halls Criticized As Rigged. “The telephone town hall, a forum that members of Congress insist offers them an opportunity to reach out to more constituents than through traditional town halls, is coming under increasing scrutiny from critics who insist that the events are largely rigged and designed to shield skittish lawmakers from facing hostile questioning. While the tele-town hall isn’t exactly a new communications tool, it’s hard not to notice the sudden proliferation of these events at a time when members have struggled to control raucous crowds and deal with the presence of unfriendly, camera-wielding attendees who are eager to post unflattering videos on the Internet.”

If you can’t take the heat, get out of our kitchen.

“SMART DIPLOMACY:” Obama’s diplomatic clumsiness may boost anti-Americanism in Eastern Europe, the only region in Europe where the United States is actually liked.

INTERPRETING Obama’s gestures.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS: ACORN for eggheads?

HURRAY FOR THE RECESSION! Emissions of CO2 Set for Best Drop in 40 Years. And with the current set of leaders in charge, this is just the beginning. . . .

ONCE AGAIN, Breitbart Gets Results. “White House officials say they are enacting specific steps to make sure such a call never happens again.”

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Beck bad for conservatism.

NABBED: More Astroturfing — HCAN Organizers Caught Handing Out Signs At Russ Carnahan Rally (Video).

Plus, Obamacare “enemies” lists?

DISAPPOINTING HYBRID CAR SALES in China.

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERS: A roundup of book reviews from all over.

FROM TPM MUCKRAKER, an amusing find:

Remember the strange case of Norman Hsu that roiled the Hillary Clinton campaign during the Democratic primary back in 2007?

Hsu was a top bundler for the campaign who was found to have hidden his past as a crook and Hillary was forced to return over $800,000 in donations. He was later convicted on campaign finance charges and plead guilty to 10 counts in a Ponzi scheme.

At the time of the crisis, Hassan Nemazee, indicted yesterday in his own alleged Ponzi scheme — considerably larger than Hsu’s $20 million operation — was a national finance chair for the Hillary campaign.

And guess who the campaign dispatched to talk to reporters to tamp down the Hsu story? One Hassan Nemazee.

There sure do seem to be a lot of fraudsters circling around these folks. My heart goes out to them, as it must be painful to have attracted so many predators.