Condi gets Fly in the Final Hour

Perhaps it is because she is on a European tour extending an olive branch that dried up several years ago and the camera's are rolling. Perhaps it is because as secretary of defense she was part responsible for what many regard as one of the biggest international military blunders in modern history and she'd like to redeem herself on some level. Or that her term is almost up. Or maybe, just maybe, it is because beneath that hardened exterior is...'a woman'.

Whatever the reason, Condi has been looking, dare I say it, fly over the past few weeks. Has anyone else noticed? I was watching the news coverage of her Warsaw visit where she traveled to sign a deal on the deployment of elements of a U.S. missile shield in Poland. I mean, I gagged. Her trademark darth vader meets Mary Tyler Moore flip was replaced with a soft bob. At last, she replaced that harsh, cherry lipstick that Lancome or whoever makes it did not create with her in mind with a more Black people friendly raspberry. Absent were the chocolate chip cookie moles (kudos to her derm) and the cream suit with chic upturned collar and exposed darting was remarkable.

No stranger to St. John's Knits, Condi has always been well suited, but stuffy, in an "I live in Connecticut" sort of way. Not fly. However lately, she's giving me Clair Huxtable rather than neurotic Black Stepford 'Wife' (umm, she did call Mr. President her husband). And this softer look is smart considering that she isn't getting any younger.... And that she lied in front of the international community... But who's counting past transgressions.

I think that real reason that she has decided to "floss" and "shine" a bit before her White House Departure is because she's solidyfing her legacy. Say what you want about her, she is one of the most powerful women in the world and not just according to Forbes. And from the African-American perspective she has reached a level in D.C. unsurpassed by any other. Three biographies about her were released in 2007 alone; “The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy,” by The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler, “Condoleezza Rice: An American Life,” by The New York Times’s Elisabeth Bumiller and “Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power,” by Marcus Mabry, now an editor at The Times. Her foot print has been made in history but at a high price. Unfortunately there are many Americans and human beings that await her departure from office like a toddler awaiting an ice cream cone. Many regard her with vitriol, and well, many do not. But nevertheless, I think she's well aware of her precarious position of deep power and shallow esteem. And I think she is trying to project a confident, polished image in her final hour. And you know what? I ain't mad at her. Do it girl. (oooh, awkward)

-Ike