Making Watching CSPAN Entertaining

I know, a lot of you think C-SPAN is a total snooze. Too bad you didn't tune in to see the Celebrity Cage Match between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) on February 13, 2008 during what was supposed to be the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs' budget hearing.

The ever-stylish Madam Secretary stepped to the desk, as always well-dressed and eminently-coiffed, a look of determination on her face as she was sworn in to give her testimony. The tension was immediately thick in the room, as Madam Secretary fielded hostile questions about war-policy in Iraq, most of which she batted aside using the shield of her having been the head of the National Security Agency at the time of the incidents.

Then it got to Senator Boxer, with her "devil-may-care" hair style and designer suit. And the full-on assault began, with nary a question asked, but a diatribe of accusations aimed against the underbelly of Madam Secretary that would have felled a lesser combatant in a matter of seconds.

It looked like Madam Secretary was on the ropes for a moment, in a virtual headlock while the rain of verbal blows fell on her in a seemingly never-ending crush. And then... Senator Boxer said the wrong thing, and simple fury entered Madam Secretary's face.

Oh, Senator Boxer was cagey - or thought she was, by using up virtually the entire time allotted to her "questions" eaten up with her salvo of verbal abuse, with no opportunity given to Madam Secretary to respond.

But Madam Secretary had a secret weapon - she refused to move on to the next Senator without first addressing the statements made by Senator Boxer. And as Secretary of State - the fourth person in line to inherit the title of President, should Bush, Cheney, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi all bite the dust simultaneously - Secretary Rice commands immense respect, not only because of her position, but mainly because of the force of her intellect.

She responded with a virtual metal chair blow to Senator Boxer's head, stopping just short of accusing Boxer of being an out-and-out liar, but managing to insinuate ever-so subtly that Senator Boxer was full of caca, and an anti-patriot for daring to call the United States' military forces in Iraq "occupying forces." Senator Boxer was sent off the ropes, but returned with an equally angry diatribe against Madam Secretary.

Which were rebuked by Madam Secretary as if the blows had been delivered by a weak kitten. With a smile, no less. Senator Boxer was put to the mat, and a three count silently issued by the chairman of the committee as he moved on to the next Senator.

Who said CSPAN isn't fun?