Maria Bartiromo, WSJ Report, Give Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice Open Platform on Iran.
An iPod Playlist.

The Wall Street Journal Report’s Maria Bartiromo visited Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at the State Department and gave her a free pass to spout the Administration’s talking points on today’s episode. Bartiromo began by saying “Dr. Rice will tell us how she and the President plan to meet these challenges while keeping the U.S. economy strong, vibrant, and growing.” There’s a soft pitch. Not what I would call hard-hitting journalism.

Rice mentioned Iran three times, first opening by discussing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Bush Kennebunkport compound as having included discussions about “defending against missiles from states like Iran, or North Korea,” and, about joint “cooperation to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.” Finally, regarding Iran, the Secretary said, “This is a relationship that is increasingly difficult and a country that is increasingly dangerous. Its support of terrorism around the world, in places like, supporting Hezbollah, Lebanon, supporting very radical elements of Hammas in the Gaza Strip in the Palistinian Territories, what Iran is doing in the south of Iraq where it is supporting and arming militias that are then threatening our force presence in Iraq.” And closing with, “The president’s never going to take his options off the table.”

Ironically, the Secretary said, “We talk to the Russians all the time, about the importance of the rule of law,” and “we’ve emphasized that the (Soviet) elections should be free and fair.” Two issues in which the U.S. has deteriorating credibility. People who live in glass houses… and yet, none of the Secretary’s answers were challenged or explored by Bartiromo. Strictly scripted question, answer, question, answer. The Secretary and the administration are in hot water, yet there were certainly no uncomfortable moments.

No iPhone questions either, but Bartiromo ended by asking Rice what was on her iPod, after Rice said she was no longer “allowed” to play with technology, and mentioned she no longer had a Blackberry. So, what’s on Madam Secretary’s iPod? “An interesting, and perhaps rather strange mixure of Brahms and Mozart and Beethoven, and The Gap Band, and Aretha Franklin and, you name it, it’s on there.”

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