Posted on 03/02/2005 8:01:42 PM PST by Space Cruiser
Dick Morris: US is ready for an Iron Lady
11feb05
AS she toured Europe this week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was like a rock star - her every movement, her every meeting covered by an adoring media.
The first black female US secretary of state is doing in public what she has always done in private - speaking frankly about her nation's priorities and the realities of the post-Cold War world. As she jokes with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, loosening up his dogmatic anti-US policies, lectures Russia about freedom and warns Israel of tough decisions ahead, one thing is obvious: A star is being born.
Travelling 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 US politics. As the Republican Party casts about for a viable presidential candidate in 2008 to keep Democratic senator Hillary Rodham Clinton out of the White House, attention will inevitably focus on Rice, the woman who may stand between Clinton and the presidency.
Like the Conservative Party in Britain when it named Margaret Thatcher as its leader in 1975, the GOP can break new ground. Rice is America's Thatcher. Like the Iron Lady, the US secretary of state fiercely believes in freedom and democracy. And since George W. Bush's success in Iraq has laid the basis for negotiations in the Middle East, there is every prospect that Rice may preside over a diplomatic triumph in catalysing discussions between Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas. The firm US stand in Iraq will also make more likely success in North Korea and Iran, all of which would add to Rice's stature.
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 per cent of his vote from three groups that, together, account for about one-third of the US electorate: African-Americans, Hispanics and single white women. Rice would cut deeply into any Democratic margin among these three groups and would 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 a former provost of Stanford University, she would have much in common with the pre-politics careers of Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower, presidents of Princeton and Columbia universities. Her service as national security adviser during a war and her present efforts as Secretary of State demonstrate her ability to handle crises and to conduct herself effectively and with dignity 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 Giuliani and senator John McCain -- either of whom could probably win the presidential election in 2008 -- she would be very attractive to the pro-life, anti-gun-control, anti-affirmative-action base of the GOP during the Republican primaries.
The US longs to put the period on the disgraceful chapter in the nation's history that began when the first slave arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, more than 400 years ago. And a message should be sent 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 Rice is sworn in as president, regardless of the fate of her administration, that message and the punctuation of America's history of racism will be obvious.
Of course, she isn't running nor is there any indication that she is harbouring thoughts of a candidacy. But as her visibility increases, so will her viability. It may just be possible to draft Rice 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.
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 favour 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.
Dick Morris, a Fox News political analyst and former senior adviser to Bill Clinton, is author, most recently, of Rewriting History (HarperCollins, 2004), a rebuttal of Hillary Clinton's Living History.
Believe me, I know enough about Hitlery's political views that my vote for Condi is automatic.
disagree about what- that she is prochoice or that she won't survive the primaries?
>>>"any comparison of her to Margaret Thatcher is totally ridiculous."
I'm glad she's in the administration and I share her views but she is best placed in an analyst position.
She's not a leader, but an analyst. She speaks 20 million languages.
Hoppy
i have heard morris on TV saying this and now in print. what he says about rice being 'conservative on social issues' is UNTRUE !
so what is 'toe boy' up to by lying about this ? is he back in the clintoon fold ????
this 'condi for pres' hype is ridiculous
How did this guy ever get to have enough of a reputation to publish anything anywhere? What utter hogwash. Neither of these guys could win the Republican nomination, much less the Presidency.
Rudy is too liberal.
McCain is nuts.
Each in his own way is useful, and a decent enough Republican. They are just unrepresentative of most Republicans. We will have a better candidate, whether it is Rice or not.
I'd vote for her, even if she leans pro-choice, she would make an excellent President. Of course she should take a slot as VP or governor first and really learn political ropes.
Totally agree with you. Abortion will be eliminated by education and grass roots campaigns, not a pro-life President. The next 8 years are going to be foreign policy, and I can't think of a better person to have at the helm than Condi. What, are we going to vote for a President Frist just because he's pro-life? Please, let's get real here.
Condi prob thinks so too. She won't run. But have you taken a look at our bench? Cheney is our only heavy hitter...
In a debate Condi will destroy Hillary.
Dick Morris is wrong almost every time about everything he predicts. It's hard to get excited about any one candidate now. It is just too soon. Remember, if you parallel where we are now to 2001, it is still seven months before 9/11 happened, and look how that became the whole focus of the Bush administration. Just can't too excited about Condi yet.
Morris has been WRONG in every prediction he ever made. I repeat: When a cure for PMS is found then we can discuss a female President.
I don't know enough about Condi's views to support her for president. From what I've seen so far she's been an excellent SOS. But does she have any desire what so ever to be president???? I don't think so.
As for Miss Rice, currently Mr. Bush's national security adviser, her job as secretary of state would touch on the right-to-life movement's concerns in that the Justice Department can — and now does — bar U.S. taxpayer funding of abortion groups overseas. "It's one of the few issues where you have a right-to-life concurrence with the State Department," says Free Congress Foundation Chairman Paul M. Weyrich. Mr. Pennington says his concern about Miss Rice stems in part from a 1999 San Francisco Chronicle interview in which she is quoted as calling herself a "pro-choice evangelical." Through a spokesman, Miss Rice declined to discuss that interview or her views on social issues.
She's not running. Colin Powell is closer to running than Rice.
I've read that she personally opposes abortion, but recognizes that it is allowed by law, so she supports it because she upholds the law. It's not really different than what President Bush has said.
If I had to choose between Hillary and Gulliani, I'd vote for Rudy. He understands the GWOT. McCain is a scary thought: I think his ego matches "slick Willy's."
I'd go with Condi in a heartbeat. Maybe knowing less political ropes would be better for awhile. Vote out all the incumbents and start anew.
people are panicking over the candidacy of shewhomustnotbenamed.....thats behind this 'rice for pres' nonsense.
"people are panicking"
Panicking? Clinton would not have made Kerry's mistakes. Those of us bashed our heads against the Clinton machine know that Hillary is the greatest domestic threat to the Nation. By 2008, Hillary will have shrewdly positioned herself to the right of Colin Powell, and 51% will believe it.
Right. We don't know enough about her to put her in the WH
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