During her tenure in the Bush/Cheney administration, Condoleezza Rice established an ignominious record. She struggled badly as a national security adviser; she had a habit of saying things that weren’t true; and Rice helped oversee the foreign policy of an administration burdened by a series of international failures. Outside of her duties, she’s also taken on the role of an aggressive partisan activist, including becoming a surrogate for a failed presidential candidate.
Now, Rice has a different kind of gig in politics.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has joined CBS News as a contributor — just in time for inauguration coverage.
Rice, who served as secretary of state during President George W. Bush’s second term, made her debut on the network’s “Face the Nation” program Sunday and will be included in inauguration coverage on Monday.
CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager and president David Rhodes made the announcement Sunday, saying Rice “will use her insight and vast experience to explore issues facing America at home and abroad.”
For now, let’s put aside Rice’s flawed record, which doesn’t appear to lend itself to quality political analysis at a leading national news organization. Instead, let’s note just how many members of the Bush/Cheney team transitioned to media roles after the Republican administration ended four years ago.
It’s been tough to keep up with all of them, but the list of Bush/Cheney alumni getting hired by news outlets is getting pretty long.
In addition to Rice, we see Dana Perino (Fox News), Michael Gerson (Washington Post), Marc Thiessen (Washington Post), Mary Matalin (CNN), Sara Taylor (msnbc), Tony Snow (CNN), Frances Fragos Townsend (CNN), Nicole Wallace (CBS News), Dan Bartlett (CBS News), Jeff Ballabon (CBS News), Tony Fratto (CNBC), Jimmy Orr (Los Angeles Times), Andrew Malcolm (Los Angeles Times), Juan Carlos Zarate (CBS News), and of course Karl Rove (Fox News, Newsweek, and the Wall Street Journal).
First, that’s an awful lot of folks from a failed administration getting media jobs, ostensibly taking roles to help the public better understand current events.
Second, for everyone who believes the media was overtly hostile to the Bush/Cheney team, can this list be Exhibit A to the contrary?
Update: I should clarify that while those Bush/Cheney officials were hired by media outlets, not all of them are still with those news organizations.
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