Last week, the media and pundits of every stripe were abuzz over statements made by a Wisconsin disc jockey. The intellectual giant, broadcasting from one of the nations staunchest enclaves of liberal thought, referred to National Security Advisor and soon-to-be Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice as an “Aunt Jemima” and soon-to-be ex-Secretary of State and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell as “Uncle Tom.”

Needless to say, the comments of the disc Jockey, John Sylvester of WTDY-AM in Madison, drew a great deal of attention (which is why he used the slurs) and generated condemnation by many.

Pundits, members of the Bush administration, local officials and WTDY management condemned Sylvester’s racial slurs against two of the nation’s highest achievers (no, not just two of the nation’s highest achieving African-Americans).

But missing from the chorus were the normally shrill and always loud voices of so-called civil rights leaders Rev. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Kweisi Mfume. Odd.

The silence of these three is both surprising and telling. After all, the trio is quick to protest all types of affronts, grievous or not, to the African-American community. Jackson (we’ll dispense with “Rev.” and such titles…after all, we don’t see “Dr.” in front of Ms. Rice’s name anywhere in the mainstream media, do we?) has been quoted ad nauseam about his self-appointed duty to protect the rights of “his people” and about “respect” being shown to African-Americans. Jackson will go to any length to protect thugs, criminals and all manner of ne’er do wells from what he calls “racism,” no matter how unworthy the “victim” or how inappropriate the charge of racism may be (all too often, Jackson is concerned not with racism, or the welfare of “his people,” but with deflecting any criticism of any African-American and with getting protection money from large corporations seeking to fend off his dubious or patently false charges of racist conduct. But I digress…). But where is he now, when Ms. Rice and Gen. Powell are being slurred?? Where is the outrage of Jackson, Sharpton, the entire NAACP and for that matter, the liberals who profess to be the protectors of minorities?

Not only did Sylvester slur these two exemplary high achievers, he compounded his offense by initially refusing to apologize with Dr. Rice (who was undergoing surgery at the time of the broadcast insults) or Gen. Powell. In fact, Sylvester went one step further, apologizing instead to the makers of Aunt Jemima products.

Yet Jackson, Sharpton, Mfume, Nancy Pelosi etc. remained silent.

Sylvester maintained that Dr. Rice and Gen. Powell deserved the racial slurs because of their subservient role in the Bush administration (apparently this genius doesn’t think that presidents have always had the last word – even with the most senior cabinet members).

This charge is beyond ridiculous. Gen. Powell has long been seen as a dissenting voice in Bush’s cabinet. In fact, senior administration officials have on several occasions been irritated by Powell’s unwillingness to fall lockstep in place behind Bush. And the relationship between Dr. Rice and President Bush is especially notable in that Dr. Rice is completely at ease in disagreeing with Bush. In fact, it’s no secret that Dr. Rice disagrees with the president on The <p>Ultimate Litmus Test, the Sacred Cow of the Left, abortion. To call either of these two cabinet members subservient is to betray an utter and thorough ignorance of the nature of their relationships with the president.

Race aside, Dr. Rice and Gen. Powell have earned the respect of all Americans. Both have been lifetime overachievers who rose from humble beginnings to excel. Both value hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence. Both are stellar examples of what anyone willing to work and sacrifice can achieve. Both have packed nearly incomprehensible accomplishments into remarkably few years…see for yourself:

Resume – Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954)

• Became Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, on January 22, 2001, under President George W. Bush. She is the second African American and first woman to hold the office.
• Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974; her master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been awarded honorary doctorates from Morehouse College in 1991, the University of Alabama in 1994, the University of Notre Dame in 1995 and the Mississippi College School of Law in 2003.
• At Stanford University, Rice is a tenured Professor of Political Science, Senior Fellow of the Institute for International Studies, and a Fellow (by courtesy) of the Hoover Institution. From 1993-1999 she served as the Stanford Provost.
• From 1989 through March 1991, the period of German reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union, she served in the George H. W. Bush Administration as Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and a Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1986, while an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, she served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1997, she served on the Federal Advisory Committee on Gender—Integrated Training in the Military.
• Rice was a member of the boards of directors for the Chevron Corporation (which named an oil tanker Condoleezza Rice after her, later quietly renamed Altair Voyager), the Charles Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the University of Notre Dame, the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan and the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors. She was a Founding Board member of the Center for a New Generation, an educational support fund for schools in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park and was Vice President of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. In addition, her past board service has encompassed such organizations as Transamerica Corporation, Hewlett Packard, the Carnegie Corporation, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Rand Corporation, the National Council for Soviet and East European Studies, the Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition and KQED, public broadcasting for San Francisco.

But  Jackson, Sharpton, Mfume, Pelosi and The Left stand silent as these exceptional people are insulted by a publicity-hungry self-described Liberal.

Why? Because Jackson, Sharpton, Mfume, Pelosi and the others who claim to be the champions of minorities don’t care a whit about minorities. They care only about the minority vote. So to them, Gen. Powell and Dr. Rice are the enemy. They do not embrace the Liberal mindset and worse, both achieved through sheer diligence and hard work and without “the helping hand” of government programs or affirmative action.

And perhaps even worse, President Bush has assembled the most truly diverse cabinet in U.S. history. And that cabinet is diverse not merely racially, but in gender, age and thought. That last bit of diversity is especially notable. Would John Kerry have appointed anyone to his cabinet who was anti-legalized abortion? Would Kerry have appointed anyone to his cabinet who was anti-legalized gay marriage? Did Bill Clinton&mdash;the self-described “first black president”&mdash;allow for any diversity of thought in his cabinet? Would Bill Clinton ever have considered appointing a Republican to his cabinet (remember, Bush offered Dem. John Breaux of Louisiana a cabinet position. Breaux flatly rejected the offer. So much for “reaching out.”).

The answer is a resounding “NO.”

So, through their silence, Jackson, Sharpton, Mfume, Pelosi and the entire Left has exposed its true feelings on racism and civil rights: As far as they’re concerned, protection from racism and the preservation of one’s civil rights is subservient to political orientation.

So while the Left makes noise about protecting minorities, it’s actually the Republicans who are doing something for minorities. It’s the Republicans who are not only putting minorities into top cabinet positions, they’re putting the best, most qualified people into those positions, regardless of race. It’s the Republicans who speak out and condemn the John Sylvesters of this world, the robe and hood cross-burning crowd whose existence should disgust any reasonable person.

Keep talking, Jesse, Al, Kweisi, Nancy and company. You’re true colors are starting to show.