Steve Hadley, Condi's NSA replacement.
Posted on 11/17/2004 6:34:48 AM PST by OXENinFLA
AMBASSADOR ALBRIGHT: Mr. President, I am deeply honored by your decision to nominate me for Secretary of State. During the past four years, under your leadership and that of Vice President Gore, we have had a skilled and successful foreign policy team. I am confident, as I look at my colleagues today, that you have assembled a first-rate team for the next four.
To Secretary Christopher, I want to express my gratitude on behalf of all of us who have worked with you for your steady nerves, prudent judgment and great wisdom. I can only hope that my heels can fill your shoes. (Laughter.)
I am also pleased beyond measure that President Clinton has asked, with my enthusiastic support, that my close friend, Strobe Talbott, stay on as Deputy Secretary. And I've asked him to begin work immediately as head of my transition team.
To my daughters, Alice, Katie and Anne, who is here, all I can say is that all your lives I've worried about where you were and what you were up to. Now you will have the chance to worry about me. (Laughter.)
To my colleagues in the Department of State, I hope I can communicate even a small measure of the excitement and determination that I feel. Together with the men and women of our Armed Forces -- the finest military in the world -- we have a job to do: to defend American interest, maintain key alliances, forge new friendships and ensure for the American people a future of steadily increasing prosperity and steadily decreasing danger.
To America's friends and allies abroad, I say that the future depends on our keeping our commitments to each other. We live in an era without power blocks in which old assumptions must be reexamined, institutions modernized and relationships transformed.
If we are to master events rather than be mastered by them, we must be forward looking in our thinking and flexible in our tactics. But we need not and must not diverge from the core values of democracy and respect for human dignity that have long guided our nation and made American leadership not only possible, but welcome in so many parts of the world.
To members of Congress, I offer an open door and open communications. As someone who has worked on Capitol Hill, I understand that the task of defending the expenditure of dollars overseas is not an easy one, especially now when the Cold War is over and nuclear weapons no longer target our homes. But if American leadership is to continue, we must always make the effort to explain clearly the who, what, when, how and especially the whys of U.S. foreign policy, and we must commit the resources needed to meet our fair share of obligations and responsibility.
Finally, to President Clinton, I say again, thank you. As you have said, I was not born in this country. Because of my parents' love of democracy, we came to America after being driven twice from our home in Czechoslovakia, first by Hitler and then by Stalin. Because of this nation's kindness, we were granted political asylum, and I have had the opportunity to live my life among the most generous and courageous people on Earth.
The story of my family has been repeated in millions of variations over two centuries in the lives no only of immigrants, but of those overseas who have been liberated or sheltered by American soldiers, empowered by American assistance, or inspired by American ideals. As the history of this century and the story of my life bear witness, the United States is, as the President has said, truly the world's indispensable nation. It is our shared task, with the help of friends from around the globe and of God, to uphold this proud standard in the years immediately ahead and into the next century.
Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)
DR. RICE: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. It has been an honor and a privilege to work for you these past four years, in times of crisis, decision and opportunity for our nation. Under your leadership, America is fighting and winning the war on terror. You have marshaled great coalitions that have liberated millions from tyranny, coalitions that are now helping the Iraqi and Afghan people build democracies in the heart of the Muslim world. And you have worked to widen the circle of prosperity and progress in every corner of the world.
I look forward, with the consent of the Senate, to pursuing your hopeful and ambitious agenda as Secretary of State. Mr. President, it is an honor to be asked to serve your administration and my country once again.
And it is humbling to imagine succeeding my dear friend and mentor, Colin Powell. He is one of the finest public servants our nation has ever produced. Colin Powell has been a great and inspirational Secretary of State. It was my honor to serve alongside him, and he will be missed.
It will, of course, be hard to leave the White House, and especially to leave behind the terrific NSC staff who have served their President and their country so ably in this most challenging of times. Yet, I can leave confident in the knowledge that they will be led by the consummate professional, a man I know and admire, my colleague and friend, Steve Hadley.
Finally, let me say that in my 25 years of experience in foreign affairs, both in and out of government, I have come to know the men and women of the Department of State. I have the utmost admiration and respect for their skill, their professionalism and their dedication. If I am confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to working with the great people of the Foreign Service and the Civil Service. And one of my highest priorities as Secretary will be to ensure that they have all the tools necessary to carry American diplomacy forward in the 21st century.
Mr. President, thank you again for this great opportunity, and for your continued confidence in me.
The meds must be a little off. Whenever he drinks the red wine too much, he does give a killer monologue though.
FRIST/RICE 2008
To counteract Clinton/Obama 2008
Albright? Albright? No sorry the name doesn't ring a bell. Is she a centerfold model or something?
I think I saw her cleaning my hotel room the other day.
Michael Savage...just say no!
Did you check your luggage to see if anything was missing? :-)
so why am i a communist? God only knows.
Maddie should have also said the following in her speech:
"And to the Serbian people who saved my family from the Nazis, for our thanks we will be bombing you soon. It's not personal, it's just that we like to appease Islamo-Fascists."
GOOD GOD! THERE IS NO REASON FOR IMAGES LIKE THAT AT 9am!!! (or anytime, for that matter)
haha or..."to the serbs, your next on the scapegoat list....if something like an impeachment proceding happens and we need to get politcal attention away from my pal BJ...well....duck and cover"
An old buddy of mine is a 20 year plus veteran in the foreign service. During the 1990s' , he was stationed in Chile for awhile. Madeline, the pig, Albright came to Santiago for some useless reason and Joe was tasked with providing her with hotel and transportation. This he did for all American dignitaries. Maddy insisted on the best 5 Star hotel only and traveled with 21 snipers/bodyguards who also had to be taken care of. She was at all times demanding and abusive to those she dealt with. Sounds like Hillary. They all hated her and were more than happy when this stinkin bitch finally left town.
I remember a few years back that the Onion or something similar, had a piece concerning a bunch of kids in Holland who mistoke Not-So-Bright for a troll underneath a bridge. Someone even had a picture morphing her face onto one of those little troll dolls. Funny as all get out!
mistoke? :)
guiliani/rice in 2008
Arrrgh!!!!! Hey, I'm trying to evolve the English language. Don't believe that one? Okay - how about I'm just one of those dumb red state voters - even though I live in Maryland. I'm series! 8-)
Savage is a legend in his own mind...twisted as it is.
Those are two hobbies I share with you, but I would never listen to that idiot while doing either! It is a safety issue!
Steve Hadley, Condi's NSA replacement.
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