Nothing like senate confirmation hearings to get the partisan juices flowing. Kos reports that Senator Barbara Boxer would speak her mind [link via 1115] as part of Dr. Condoleeza Rice's confirmation as Secretary of State. Dr. Rice, former Provost at Stanford, and Boxer, the only Senator to request an investigation into voter disenfranchisement in Ohio, are two of Washington's most powerful women. While SFist would rather have seen this settled in a steel-cage match, the halls of congress will have to do. From Boxer's prepared statement:

This war was sold to the American people- as Chief of Staff to President Bush, Andy Card said-like a "new product." You rolled out the idea and then you had to convince the people, and as you made your case, I personally believe that your loyalty to the mission you were given overwhelmed your respect for the truth. That was a great disservice to the American people.

But worse than that, our young men and women are dying. So far, 1342 American troops have been killed in Iraq. More than 25 percent of those troops were from California. More than 10,000 have been wounded. I don't want their families to think for a minute that their lives and bodies were given in vain. Because when your commander in chief asks you to sacrifice yourself for your country, it is noble to answer the call. I am giving their families all the support that they want and need, but I will also not shrink from questioning a war that was not built on the truth.

Oh, snap! No she didn't! Dr. Rice, of course, can smirk and look superior all she wants. Because, after all, her side won the election and she's getting confirmed -- who cares if some Latte Liberal from California wants to take her credibility to task? I mean, it's not like there's nearly twelve thousand dead and wounded Americans and multiples more Iraqi civilian deaths to answer for. Oh, and Dianne Feinstein -- she graciously introduced Dr. Rice to the committee.

Photo by Tim Dillon, USA TODAY