Jack Reed: “I must confess, after careful deliberation I intend to oppose this nomination. There is no doubt that Dr. Rice is an…”

“I must confess, after careful deliberation I intend to oppose this nomination. There is no doubt that Dr. Rice is an extraordinarily talented, capable individual. Her credentials as an academic are impeccable. She has a compelling life story. She has done remarkable things in her life. But I believe the best way to judge what would be her performance as Secretary of State is looking closely at what she has done as a National Security Adviser under this Bush administration. I think in that regard she leaves some very troubling questions unanswered as her nomination comes before us this day. Most of what she did with the President, obviously, as his National Security Adviser, was confidential and necessarily is not subject to public view. But she has not, in my view, successfully responded to obvious questions about inconsistencies in her statements, about policies she advocated, apparently, and about her role in marshaling information for the President of the United States. In a very simplistic view, I think the National Security Adviser's chief role is to make sure the President has every bit of information he needs to make very difficult judgments--not just the information that favors one side or the other but all the information. Indeed, not just the bold strokes but the nuances.”