His Own Private Reno

Bringing back to mind all the nasty Janet Reno she-male jokes from the Clinton era, Karen Hughes, Bush's main work wife, returns to DC for a more far-flung policy role. (More here.) Instead of subbing flash-card practice with the Boy Genius every Tuesday, Hughes now gets to soft-pedal Condoleezza Rice's international ineptitude (Now With More Stiletto Action™!).

Hughes will not wear stilettos, thank God -- though the imminent oil strikes in such a case might help with the outrageous gas prices. Oh no he di'unt!

Introducing Hughes at the State Department, Rice said the United States must do much more to counter the “hateful propaganda” that is so common in the Islamic world.

Rice said Hughes believes strongly that the United States “must mobilize young people around the world to shatter the mistrust of past grievances and to foster a new spirit of tolerance and mutual respect.”

Please. She knows how to play ball, and was every bit the architect of Bush's first run in 2000 as His Prince Regentness Karl Rove was. There is literally no other reason to appoint her to this job. What a meta-issue, though -- a cheerleader for Dear Cheerleader. Wheels within wheels, my friends.

Hughes, who for years has had a major voice in crafting Bush’s domestic message, is a former counselor to the president who left the White House in 2002 to move her family back to Texas.

She is also a former Texas television reporter. She has continued to advise the president from her home in Austin.

I'm sure her reporter skills will come in most handy, since these guys are all about the fake-news agitprop.

Although not a diplomat by training, Hughes had a hand in several foreign policy initiatives during Bush’s first term, including efforts to promote democracy and improve the lives of women and children in Afghanistan.

How's that been working out?