'Body Language Expert' on CNN: Condi 'Mopped Up' Student Who Confronted Her on Torture; 'Wish I Could High-Five Condi For That'

Posted by Liliana Segura, AlterNet at 9:15 AM on May 4, 2009.

CNN news anchor Roland Martin, who recently said that the Left "needs to shut up" about all this torture prosecution nonsense, recently hosted a segment on the now famous confrontation of Condoleezza Rice by a Stanford student who pressed her about her role in the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. As anyone who has seen the video knows, Rice, who was Stanford's provost from 1993 to 1999, basically shifted between fearmongering -- "If you were there in a position of authority and watched Americans jump out of 80 story buildings because these murderous tyrants …", condescension -- "The world is not a bunch of easy choices in which you get to make one that always feel good" -- and lying her face off: "I did not authorize anything." Chillingly, she also took a page from the Nixon playbook, claiming, "If it was authorized by the president it did not violate our obligation under the conventions against torture."
Wow, right? Worthy of some solid commentary, right? Well, not if you're Roland Martin. If you're Roland Martin, the real story here is not any one of the incredible claims that came out of Condi's mouth, but rather, what she said -- with her body.
On a Friday episode of "No Bias No Bull" (in which he was filling in for new mom Campbell Brown), Martin rolled out Janine Driver, "an expert on body language," to analyze the exchange (while first pausing to share with viewers that he and Rice "share the same birthday.")
"She got a little testy there," Martin said to Driver after introducing her, then asked, "What stood out to you in watching that video?"
Her response:
"I loved it actually. I swear. Sometimes I get calls and I'm like, there's not much there. There's a lot of body language there."
"I'll tell you right now. She's speaking volumes, and I think she mopped those guys up big time."
Mopped. Those. Guys. Up.

(Big Time.)
The rest of the transcript -- featuring much laughter and the occasional moronic remark from CNN's business correspondent Ali Velshi -- bears posting (with some particularly choice quotes in bold):
MARTIN: So what was her body saying, though? I mean, what was -- because, you know, we had the finger moving.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And doing this.
MARTIN: We had the hand. We had -- right, Ali, she was sitting there, the arms crossed. So exactly as a body language expert, what did all of that mean?
DRIVER: Oh, a lot of things. She starts off with an open palm gesture. So open palm, this is called the beggar's pose, a dollar, please, a dollar please. This is, hey, I'm open to what you have to say.
When he starts really going off on a tangent, she does the palm down gesture. And think about it, I have a 3-year-old son, Angus. It's like, Angus, don't run in the street. It's right here.
(LAUGHTER)
She even no-dared him one time.
VELSHI: Yes.
DRIVER: I was loving that. I wish I could high-five Condi for that. She's like no, dear, right here with the whole finger pointing. She, like, reprimanded him back. She does microexpressions, too. At one point, she was going to rip his face off, you know.
(LAUGHTER)

When he -- he's comparing it to World War II or whatever he was saying, her brows go up and are straight across, which is a microexpression of fear and surprise. She's like, this guy is going to get killed right now.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATL. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think she seemed a little bit defensive, too.
VELSHI: Or you think very antagonizing.
LISA BLOOM, ANCHOR OF TRUTV'S "IN SESSION": She was secretary of state. I don't think she's used to this young person being up in her face and challenging her in that way.
VELSHI: No, but listen, listen, listen. Hold on for a second because we're talking about her behavior.
DRIVER: Well, you're right.
VELSHI: We're talking about the content. We can agree or disagree with what he says. There was nothing about that kid that wasn't antagonizing.
DRIVER: Oh, no. Listen, my heart went out for her. I have to say she did get defensive a little bit. She put one hand over her center. And this is very interesting because a lot of people will think that this is defensive, so I'm creating a wall between me and you. But actually, it's almost like she's giving herself a self hug.
And what studies have shown -- what studies have shown is if you sit -- you'll be surprised to hear this, ladies. When you sit with your arms crossed…
MARTIN: Right.
DRIVER: … you'll actually spend 30 percent more time solving a difficult problem. So when her arms are crossed here, she's got the arm crossed, she's saying, I'm not going to give up here.
MARTIN: No.
DRIVER: And you hear her --
MARTIN: No, Janine. She said -- this is what she said. I'm about to kick your little behind if you keep asking me the question. That's what she was saying.
YELLIN: This woman is a trained diplomat. She knows how to deal with confrontation.
DRIVER: It's like confronting the Webster dictionary on a word, vocabulary word. I mean, you can't beat Condoleezza Rice. She is awesome.

At this point, CNN anchor Erica Hill tried to steer the conversation to something revelvant, noting Rice's amazing claim that "If it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the conventions against torture."
"Is that true?" she asks legal analyst Lisa Bloom, who says "absolutely not," while giving Condi the benefit of the doubt. "We sign treaties," she said. "The president can't just violate it under presidential authority or anything else. The president has to live up to those treaties. So I have to think she misspoke. I think she's smarter than that. Maybe she meant something else."
Maybe. But body language expert Janine Driver is not interested in this part of the discussion. She jumps right back in to re-emphasize just how totally awesome Condi is.
DRIVER: I'll tell you right now. Condi, Condi --
MARTIN: Real quick. Real quick.
DRIVER: What Condi is saying, her body language matches what she is saying verbally. And 93 percent of what we communicate with people are nonverbal. She's saying, listen, this is the United States of America. We're not going to break any -- put our people in any type of a danger.
MARTIN: OK.
DRIVER: It's a dangerous situation.
BLOOM: Yes.
DRIVER: I thought she rocked it. I loved it.
MARTIN: Janine, I thought --
DRIVER: I'm going to show it at classes around the country.
MARTIN: I thought what she said, you little punk, I'm going to eject you. OK, just wait, I'll kick you outside. That's what she was doing.
Yes, right? Now you're going snapping --
DRIVER: I'm surprised she didn't do a couple of snaps.
MARTIN: Janine Driver, thanks a bunch. We certainly appreciate it.
We certainly do. And glad to know you will be showing this video around the country (if not for the reason you'll be showing it.) Now, who are you again? Let's see…
A Google search of "Janine Driver" reveals that aside from being a "body language expert" who has appeared on NBC, ABC, CNBC, FOX, The Today Show, and more, she also offers classes on business as well as "dating and relationships." But the real irony is that she markets herself above all as a "deception detection expert." Her website, http://www.lyintamer.com -- Lyin' Tamer! Get it? -- asks "Have you wasted valuable time, resources & money, misled by people's words and empty promises?"
"Janine's body language classes are proven to help people like you become more successful in their personal and professional lives. Want to make more money? Work less? She'll show you how accurate interpretation of others' body language cues will help you achieve those goals."
Not sure why this qualifies her to comment on matters of major national significance, but there you go. Driver also was invited by FOX News to opine on the infamous "terrorist fist jab" shared by Barack and Michelle Obama on the campaign trail last summer. (To her credit, Driver denied that there was anything dangerous about the gesture, while also giving then-president George W. Bush "a thumbs up" for his own nonverbal communication.)
But I digress. The main point here, perhaps, is that when it comes to politics, this person needs to stick to nonverbal communication herself. (And Roland Martin is embarrassing.) Luckily, in the absence of meaningful analysis, Condoleezza Rice nevertheless continues to be hounded by bold students on the question of torture, most recently, by the most awesome fourth grader ever.
According to John Byrne at Raw Story,

(Last week) Rice spoke at the Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation’s Capital, speaking about her “love of Israel,” according to The Washington Post. She then took questions -- and an enterprising fourth grader from Bethesda, Maryland posed a whopper.

Paraphrased, the question was: What did Rice think about the things President Obama’s administration was saying about the methods the Bush administration had used to get information from detainees?

Rice said she was reluctant to criticize Obama, and then delivered her answer.

“Let me just say that President Bush was very clear that he wanted to do everything he could to protect the country. After September 11, we wanted to protect the country,” Rice remarked. “But he was also very clear that we would do nothing, nothing, that was against the law or against our obligations internationally. So the president was only willing to authorize policies that were legal in order to protect the country.”

According to the student’s mother, her son, whose question was screened in advance, had been pressured not to use the word torture.
His original question, she said, was: “If you would work for Obama’s administration, would you push for torture?”
No word from Janine Driver on whether she “mopped that guy up,” also, but we’ll see.

Liliana Segura is a staff writer and editor of AlterNet's Rights and Liberties and War on Iraq Special Coverage.