I don't think Rice is stupid, but I do think she is being used by the Bush administration. I find it hard to believe that they would hire a black person (or, come to think of it, a woman) for any other reason than to wave her around and say "Hey, we don't discriminate! Look at this!"

I have no qualms admitting that I am biased in the case of the government, and there is a warning about that in my userinfo.