What would the response of the press be if Condi Rice was a Democrat? Probably much the same as that of the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas kerfuffle. The press was all for Anita Hill, a credible black woman speaking her mind and making her case. Why are they not up in arms about the treatment of Dr. Rice? One reason is that the whole affair was a showcase for the members of the commission instead of a group of non-partisan types attempting to figure out what went wrong. Bob Kerrey was auditioning for the Vice Presidency it seems:

We thought the former Senator had more class than to preface his remarks with a condescending allusion to the fact that Ms. Rice is a black woman. ("I'm very impressed . . . [by] the story of your life.") Or to then complain that her attempts to answer his monologue were cutting into his time. In their zeal to show all the things that went undone before 9/11, Mr. Kerrey and other Democrats on the Commission inadvertently underscored all that President Bush has done since. Think of it as one long endorsement of pre-emption.

Rice did fine and it should be noted that her appearance is pretty much unprecedented.