"If the president really were to take this opportunity and not only reach out overseas but do big things here, wouldn't you have thought that he would have reached beyond the immediate circle of the White House and brought in more stellar people into the Cabinet?"

Before Meacham could answer, Mtichell added, "I'm trying to be very diplomatic here, but this isn't exactly the best and the brightest."

Colin Powell - who's heading up U.S. relief efforts - not stellar? Condi Rice - not "the best and the brightest"?

Ms. Mitchell apparently longs for the days when real political stars guided U.S. foreign policy - like Madeleine "The Incompetent" Albright and Sandy "Light Fingers" Berger.

Editor's note: