Posted on 10/19/2004 8:31:34 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
In the weeks leading up to the Nov. 2 election, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice has traveled across the country making speeches in key battleground states, including Oregon, Washington, North Carolina and Ohio. In the next five days, she also plans speeches in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida.
The frequency and location of her speeches differ sharply from those before this election year -- and appear to break with the long-standing precedent that the national security adviser try to avoid overt involvement in the presidential campaign. Her predecessors generally restricted themselves to an occasional speech, often in Washington, but counting next week's speeches, Rice will have made nine outside Washington since Labor Day.
Rice frequently supplements her speeches with interviews with local media, generating positive coverage -- including a Page One news story in Portland's largest newspaper. Although she does not mention Democratic challenger John F. Kerry and avoids answering overtly political questions, the target of her speeches is not lost on local audiences. The Seattle Times, reporting on a Sept. 7 speech to the University of Washington, said, "Rice sounded at times like a candidate" as she received "rousing ovations" in defending the administration's handling of the war on terrorism.
Speaking to the City Club of Cleveland last week, after Kerry attacked President Bush in the debates for failing to capture Osama bin Laden, Rice said there was "a debate in our country" over the war on terrorism.
"For some, it is a limited engagement whose goal is to go after bin Laden and al Qaeda, assume a defensive posture at home, put it out of our minds and just hope they do not attack us again," Rice said, echoing the campaign's assertion that Kerry's worldview predates Sept. 11, 2001.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Condi has a pair of brass ones. At least they're bigger than most Democrats'.
How dare she!
Doesn't she know that during a campaign, the proper
role of the National Security Advisor is to destroy
and switch documents in the National Archives?
I wish she had a speech scheduled every day from now until November 2 in Ohio and Florida.
I would pay money to watch Condi dismantle Kerry in a debate.
I think this is in part a reaction to having the ugly faces of Albright and Holbrooke on television every night.
Could it be that Condi has political aspirations of her own and is even now beginning to get some exposure on the campaign trail?
> I think this is in part a reaction to having the ugly
> faces of Albright and Holbrooke on television every night.
Not to mention unindicted co-conspirator Sandy Bergler
out on the speaking circuit again.
Condi vs. Hillary in '08? That would be interesting...
Post calls it unprecedented yet goes on to cite numerous examples of similar situations.
Practice for '08.
Has this rag of a newspaper had anything to say about Sandy Bergler secreting classified documents in his underwear?
I believe Condi has ruled out running for President, unfortunately.
Different administration. :-)
> Different administration. :-)
For those who might have missed the unsaid,
Sandy Berger was Kerry's natsec advisor up
to the point where he was revealed as a
pant stuffer at the archives. He was Kerry's
Condi, and possibly even the presumptive
natsec advisor if Kerry won.
Berger publically stepped down from the
advisor role, but did no such thing in
reality. He resurfaced last week speaking
at Cornell on the politicization national
security, of all things.
This enlarged Condi role might well be a
White House dare to Kerry to say even one
little word about the subject.
Any idea where in Florida?
National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice walks on the practice field at the Cleveland Browns training facility, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004, in Berea, Ohio. Rice and other officials in the Bush administration are leaving their Washington offices and heading out to battleground states such as Ohio. It's a campaign tactic used to send good news to voters about the administration. Rice is to speak to the Cleveland City Club, Friday.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
CONDI FOR PRES IN 2008.
She claims to be only interested in becoming the commissioner of the NFL. In my mind, that made her one of the smartest people on the planet.
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