Posted on 10/10/2005 6:36:25 PM PDT by kddid
In a scene sure to send chills down the spines of Republicans everywhere, Dick Morris and Eileen McGann begin their new book, "Condi vs. Hillary: the Next Great Presidential Race," with the former first lady taking the presidential oath of office on January 20, 2009.
"By her side, smiling broadly and holding the family Bible will be her chief strategist, husband and co-president, William Jefferson Clinton," they note, lest anyone forget the full implications of such a scene.
But like Dickens' "Christmas Carol," the Morris-McGann tome warns of a dark future that might yet be avoided - if Republicans realize in time that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is America's last best hope to avoid a third Clinton administration.
Debuting the book Monday on Sean Hannity's ABC Radio show, Morris said polls showing that either Rudy Giuliani or John McCain could defeat Mrs. Clinton in 2008 are misleading.
Certainly Giuliani could defeat Hillary in the general election, but he's "way too left" on social issues to prevail in GOP primaries.
McCain has a similar primary problem, as someone who polls show defeating Clinton handily in a national race - but who's such a maverick that "Republicans just don't like him," Morris said.
Condeleezza Rice, said Morris, is the one GOP candidate who could lock up the primaries and counter Mrs. Clinton's built in advantage with key demographic groups like blacks and women.
Citing the predictions of prominent African-Americans like former Congressman Mike Espy and Amsterdam News publisher Jamal Watson, Morris said that a Rice presidential bid would garner 50 percent of the black vote.
That kind of erosion would cripple the presidential chances of any Democratic candidate, who will need 90 percent of the black vote just to break even.
Morris argues that Condi would also close the gap with another critical Democratic demographic - white women, who are otherwise expected to vote for Hillary in droves. What about Hillary's highly touted credentials as one of the hundred smartest lawyers in the country - not to mention her status as the first, first lady to win high elective office?
Clinton's accomplishments start to fade when compared to Dr. Rice's, noted Morris. He says Condi didn't depend on her husband's coattails to make her way up the career ladder.
"Hillary gets hired by the Rose Law firm the year her husband becomes Arkansas attorney general," he told Hannity. "She makes partner the year her husband becomes governor. She becomes first lady when her husband becomes president."
"Throughout Hillary's entire career, it's her husband leading the way," Morris noted. "With Condi Rice, it's Condi leading the way."
Morris touted Rice's credentials as a self-made woman, first as provost of Stanford University and then as a top foreign policy advisor in both the Bush 41 and 43 administrations.
"When you look at these two women," he said, "you see that this is a woman who made it on her own."
Morris dismisses Rice's current protestations that she's not interested in a White House run, saying, "I'm absolutely certain she'll be president."
In fact, it would look untoward for Rice to be seen openly coveting the ultimate promotion with so much already on her plate. A Condi candidacy, as Morris envisions it, would be a grass roots affair, with hundreds of Rice for President clubs springing up around the country as Americans realize her presidential potential - and weigh the frightening alternative.
Morris paints an ominous picture if Rice sits out 2008 with a chapter titled, "President Hillary: How it Can Happen." George Bush was reelected, he notes, largely because he carried the vote among white females who saw him as a bulwark of strength and security in the post-9/11 world. But Hillary, he said, would be certain to flip the gender equation, noting that Clinton won her first Senate race with a 22 percent margin among women - in a twelve point overall landslide. "The person who I think should stop and could stop Hillary Clinton is Condoleezza Rice," said Morris.
Agree, Hillary Clinton will never be the President of the United States.
I'm on board!
You've got Morris nailed down. Even a clock that's stopped shows the correct time twice a day.
I like the tiket -- Rice-N-Rudi, The All-American team that can't be Beat!
Sure hope not.
I think Morris really knows his stuff, but he is a little "Clinton paranoid." Although, he worked closely with them for many years, so who could blame him?
He doesn't here mention other Republican candidates, like George Allen.
I PRAY THAT YOU ARE RIGHT! My fear: clintons cheat.
Dick Morrris as a child.....
don't be too optimisitic. she can win. especially when I see people here saying Mike Pence or some other total unknown should be the nominee.
If Rudy and McCain don't win it - its got to be Allen. I don't see Condi at the top of the ticket.
Morris hates hillary; but he is a liberal and does not want the conservatives to win. He's a plant.
I'm starting to think that George Allen might be the best candidate.
As far as Condi goes, I like her fine, but I'm a little worried she would be just a retread of what we've seen with Bush. No border enforcement, high government spending, record deficits, etc.
Someone slap me - I actually agree with the toe sucker on something.
Agreed.
A bare assertion does not an argument make, much less a persuasive one.
Hopefully the candidate would be a good, solid, southern conservative whose name hasn't yet hit the front pages.
As for Condi, I would be willing to support her if (and it's a big if) she comes out with a strong statement declaring that she has thought matters over and is running as a pro-lifer. Without that, she would risk losing a lot of religious and social conservative votes, because earlier she indicated that she supported abortion.
She's an honest woman. If she says she has changed her views, I'm willing to listen. After all, why not? Dozens of Democrat candidates have dumped their morals over the side and switched to the pro-abortion side from earlier pro-life views in order to run for office.
Boy, Morris really wants to be a puppet master, doesn't he? Now if Condi does run, he can sit back and say *he* was the one who told her she had to do it.
I'm not sure what a lot of his personal beliefs are, but I don't think he's a plant. He's far too pro-American.
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