Karen the Torpedo (Promenade)

Ezra mentioned something earlier about Rice wanting Hughes in her new post over at State.

She may very well love the idea. And if that's the case, Ezra's right on.

But I don't think so. I see two possible reasons for Hughes' nomination:

1) There was a substantial amount of media speculation about a Rice run at the Presidency just before the nomination. Rice knocked it down on Sunday, but all last week was abuzz with the sounds of political hacks mumbling giddily about Rice vs. Hillary.
Bush knows this, and he (or, more specifically the Republican establishment) wants to cool her down. She's running all around the world, sure, but she's hogging up the spotlight in a way that even a Matrixed out Colin Powell never could have. Hughes, who in reality has more power (if by power you mean long-standing proximity to the President) than Rice, will be technically underneath her, but in a position almost as prominent. She will have the opportunity to spend as much time talking to Middle Eastern leaders in front of the cameras as Rice, and that will diminish Rice's stature.

So why wouldn't the GOP establishment want Rice? Personal aspirations, sure, but in reality, Rice could never win the nomination. There goes all the inroads with the African-American community, who will be lost for another generation. There goes their attempts to continue to recast Republicanism as a somehow open ideology. Anyone who is less black or feminine than Rice will re-establish those old stereotypes.

2) Bush still doesn't trust State. Diplomats are anathema to him (see: John Bolton for UN), so he wants someone else breathing down their neck that will absolutely carry out the administration's bidding.