is because i think she knew better. and if she didn t know better, she shouldn t be the voice of america. not very bright? didn t trust her? these attacks were ugh ri and openly partisan. in our letter to president obama, ambassador rice addressed her critics saying, the position of secretary of state should never be politicized. i am saddened that we have re h reached this point even before you ve decided who to nominate. we cannot afford such an irresponsible distraction from the most pressing issues facing the american people. with but these republicans didn t care about distractions. they were simply playing politics. joining me now is congresswoman gwen moore, democrat from wisconsin. she was a staunch supporter of rice amid the republican criticism. and joan walsh, editor at large of salon.com and an msnbc