Posted on 02/09/2005 10:48:10 AM PST by Hawk44
Dick Morris
To stop Hillary, draft Condi
As she tours the continent after her Senate confirmation, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is like a rock star — her every movement, her every meeting covered by an adoring media.
America’s first black female secretary of state is doing in public what she has always done in private — speaking frankly about America’s priorities and the realities of the post-Cold War world. As she jokes with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, loosening up his dogmatic anti-American policies, lectures Russia about freedom and warns Israel of tough decisions ahead, one thing is obvious: A star is being born.
Traveling without the entourage customary for secretaries of state, on time, mapping out in advance her first six months of travel, Rice is a new force in American politics.
As the Republican Party casts about for a viable presidential candidate in 2008 to keep Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) out of the White House, attention will inevitably focus on Rice, the woman who may stand between Clinton and the presidency.
Since Bush’s success in Iraq has laid the basis for negotiation in the Middle East, there is every prospect that Rice may preside over a diplomatic triumph in catalyzing the discussions between Sharon and Abbas. The firm American stand in Iraq will also make more likely success in Korea and Iran, all of which would add to the prestige of Rice.
The political fact is that a Rice candidacy would destroy the electoral chances of the Democratic Party by undermining its demographic base. John Kerry got 54 percent of his vote from three groups that, together, account for about a third of the American electorate: African-Americans, Hispanics and single white women. Rice would cut deeply into any Democrat’s margin among these three groups and would, most especially, deny Clinton the strong support she would otherwise receive from each of them.
Rice’s credentials for a candidacy are extensive and will grow throughout her tenure at the State Department. As former chancellor of Stanford University, she would have much in common with the pre-political careers of Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower, presidents of Princeton and Columbia universities. Her service as national security adviser during a war and her current efforts as secretary of state demonstrate her ability to handle crises and to conduct herself with dignity and impact on the world stage.
As a social conservative and deeply religious person, she would face no bar in winning the votes of the Christian right, so crucial to winning the Republican nomination. Unlike former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani (R) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — both of whom could probably win in November — she would be very attractive to the pro-life, anti-gun-control, anti-affirmative-action base of the GOP.
America longs to put the period on the disgraceful chapter in our nation’s history that began when the first slave arrived at Jamestown, Va., more than 400 years ago. We also want to send a message to every girl, and every African-American or Hispanic baby, that there is no ceiling and that you can rise as far as your ability will carry you. The day Condi Rice is sworn in as president, regardless of the fate of her administration, that message and the punctuation of our history of racism will be obvious.
Of course, she isn’t running — nor is there any indication that she is harboring thoughts of a candidacy. But as her visibility increases, so will her viability. It may just be possible to draft Condi into the race. A real presidential draft movement hasn’t happened since 1952, when Republicans urged Eisenhower to get into the race. A draft-Condi movement seems almost antiquated in this era of ambitious and self-promoting candidates, but it may well fill a deep need in the electorate to vote for someone who is running in response to a genuine call of the people.
Condi Rice is a work in progress. Her rise has been impelled by her merits and achievements rather than any efforts on her part to curry favor in the media. She is still working and still progressing. But keep your eye on this political star. It is rising and may one day be ascendant.
Morris is the author of Rewriting History, a rebuttal of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) memoir, Living History.
2) A practical concern is that she has not held an elective office at any level. Politics, after all, IS the practice of attracting votes. It is a risk, and not one swept under a rug.
Toesucker alert. Condi is one of the top bets for VP, though.
I will not support or vote for her for anything, anytime, since she is, to use her own words, 'pro-choice'.
Having said that, I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I think she did a great job as NSA to the President, and expect her to do well as SoS.
Secretaries of State have alot of power. They are well-known and high profile. Some have aspired to the presidency, but I can't remember one who ever became one. Maybe someone can educate me if there is an example.
I will put my personal opinion of Dick Morris aside for a moment to state that I emphatically agree with him on this issue.
Even Dick Morris' intellect has benefited from disassociating with the Democrats. I think he is right on the money with this analysis. Whether she will run, time will tell.
There is only one quote I can find on that, and it is an attributed quote, not a direct quote, and not in context. Here is an excerpt from my article on this subject:
http://johnkerryquestionfairy.blogspot.com/2005/02/dick-morris-condi-vs-hillary-in-2008.html
The very few objections I have heard from conservatives have to do with Dr. Rice's attributed statement that she was "mildly pro-choice" in an interview with Jay Nordlinger of the National Review. However it is worth noting that this statement was not quoted, nor in context with any particular part of the interview:READ MORE AT THE QUESTION FAIRYAs per The National Review:
Rice characterizes herself as an "all-over-the-map Republican," whose views are "hard to typecast": "very conservative" in foreign policy, "ultra-conservative" in other areas, "almost shockingly libertarian" on some issues, "moderate" on others, "liberal" on probably nothing. (She calls herself "mildly pro-choice" on abortion.)READ MORE FROM JAY NORDLINGERIn this case, a full explanation in context would be warranted: is she pro-choice only when the mother's life is in danger? Only that and in cases of rape or incest? Anytime a woman wants it? There are several very important variants of this position, and many pro-life conservatives are dismayed to find that they themselves are labeled as "pro-choice" by the media and pollsters if they hold that abortion can be performed ONLY when the mother's life is in danger. No distinction is made between that conservative or the "abortion-on-demand" standpoint; so too in Dr. Rice's case, it is only fair to ask: what does she mean? She should be allowed to answer that question fully before any condemn her for it.
We should fully expect the opposition to sow the seeds of discord regarding Dr. Rice with this reported quote, and we should also expect Dr. Rice to address it directly in the proper forums if she chooses to run.
Beyond that, there is nothing that would stand in the way of a landslide for Rice at this point - and that should worry Dr. Rice and all her supporters. The very same machine that got the Clintons elected will target Dr. Rice. They paved the way to the Clinton administration with the broken bodies of their opponents, and they will not be any different this time. They know that they cannot beat Dr. Rice by making leftists hate her; there are simply not enough leftists to defeat average or right-leaning Americans. So they will attack her from within the Right, knowing that the only way to defeat her is to disenchant conservatives.
We should look for more information before letting the Democrats use us to shoot Dr. Rice down...
I know this is the Toesucker, but even the broken clock is right twice a day. I strongly suspect that she believes in restrictions on abortion rights (at least, that's what I got from her Oprah interview in 2001) but isn't for a wholesale overturning of Roe v. Wade (which won't happen anyway, at least until we get a Strict Constructionist majority which is willing to do to Roe what the Burger Court did to Plessey with the Brown decision). She'll come down as personally pro-life, in line with her evangelical beliefs, but against governmental interference. She'll refer back to the late Governor Casey on the issue, whose federalist stance was struck down by the Court back in the Nineties. That's where I think she'll end up: a variation of Bush's "good people can disagree" take, which has the virtue of offending as few people as possible. Be Seeing You,
Chris
Condi has my vote. If she runs and wins it will be the final collapse of the democratic party as we know it.
Thomas Jefferson.
Wiliam Howard Taft went from Secretary of War to the Presidency. Herbert Hoover likewise went from Secretary of Commerce. Neither had ever held an elected position before.
Besides, should Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice become the Republican candidate, just whom will you vote for?
Hey, EV. IIRC, one of the Adamses. As much as l liked Ike, Marshall would have made a superb President.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
This is what happened to the last Goldwater Republican we ran. (Note, the colors in this shceme are flipped, red for Demoncrat, blue for Republican.)
Here we go again with the "Let's see which ProAbort Moderate/RINO Republican we can nominate so we can lose our Conservative base in 2008" thread.
Give me a break about Condi - if she were a bald white man Nobody on this board would be nominating her for anything.
And guess what *CONDI WILL STILL LOSE THE BLACK VOTE 90%-8%!!!*
My hunch is that if Condi runs, she will stake out a position on abortion that would be acceptable to a majority of pro-life Republicans.
"she is, to use her own words, 'pro-choice'. "
Bush is pro-life, but the biggest concern he has - socially - is the Marriage Amendment. Abortion is an issue the republican party has run from.
Rice-Nugent '08
What do you base that on? I would guess that if she were to run after 4 years as a successful Sec. of State, she would garner something in the range of 25-45% of the black vote, enough - with even modest coattails - to devastate the Dem party up and down the ballot.
Condi will not run for President. End of story.
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