Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - Possible 2008 Candidate for President

Links - Official Site: U.S. Department of State | Independent Sites: www.4condi.com (Americans for Dr. Rice), Condipundit, more

Patrick Ruffini's 2008 Presidential Wire: Stories on Condoleezza Rice

In Brief - Became the 66th Secretary of State on January 26, 2005. Previously served as President Bush's National Security Advisor (formally Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs) starting on January 22, 2001. Provost of Stanford University for six year term through June 1999. Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and a Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, 1989 to March 1991. Professor of political science at Stanford University, joined the faculty in 1981. Bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Denver, 1974; master's from the University of Notre Dame, 1975; and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver, 1981. Born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, AL.

Notes
Not Interested
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has stated a number of times that she has no interest in running for president. In a March 11, 2005 interview with the Washington Times she would not directly rule out a run. Following that, on March 13 on NBC News' "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert pressed Rice for a Shermanesque statement "I will not run." Rice started out by stating, "I don't have any desire or intention of running for president. I've never wanted to run for anything, and I just don't have any desire to do it." After more from Russert she stated, "I don't want to run for president of United States. I have no intention of doing so. I don't think I will be president of the United States ever. Is that good enough?" It wasn't; so Rice next said, "I don't intend to run." Russert continued on and she finally stated, "I won't run." Appearing on "Meet the Press" on October 16 Rice reiterated her earlier remarks, stating that, "I have no interest in being a candidate for anything" and that "...it's not what I want to do with my life. It's not what I'm going to do with my life." In a March 26, 2006 posting titled "I am depressed!" on his Condi for President 2008 blog, "Duke of DeLand" from Tampa, Florida wrote, "This morning I watched and listened as Condi appeared on FOX and pretty clearly announced that she was not interested in the job of President. I saw in her face and eyes a truthfulness that makes me believe she means what she says. My only hope now is that GWB & Laura can find a way to influence her to rethink this decision."

Please Run
Despite Rice's disavowals, supporters started a number of web sites to encourage her to run. The most active was Americans for Dr. Rice, an independent 527 group, formed in late 2004. The group emphasizes that it is a draft effort similar to the movement that drafted Eisenhower in 1952. It has been the most active independent groups working to advance a potential candidacy. Members of the group have made appearances at various Republican events (for example CPAC 2005, CPAC 2006). Americans for Dr. Rice has even run radio and television ads in Iowa and New Hampshire:

-Ran a TV ad on WMUR-TV in NH on Sept. 27, 2005 during the premiere of ABC's "Commander in Chief." Americans for Rice supplemented the $4,000 buy with $1,000 on radio ads promoting the show.
-Ran three radio spots on WNTK AM 1020 (New London/Upper Valley) and WKXL AM 1450 (Concord) starting May 12, 2005. The group also ran radio ads on WKAT AM 1360 in Miami. Americans for Dr. Rice founder Richard Mason MD provided some observations on the NH buy. "WNTK was very helpful and did an excellent job of arranging for the production of the "breakfast table" spot after we had some disappointing experiences with other studios and stations. We used those two stations since they had a news/talk format which we thought would be a better audience for us at this point. I haven't separated it out, but we spent approximately $2500 on radio at that time with the bulk of it going to WNTK and WKXL. The ads ran for 6 weeks between the two stations." Asked why the group decided to run the ads in May, Mason responded, "That was the soonest we could get it on the air! We wanted to see what type of response we got. Although it wasn't a fund-raising 'bonanza,' it did generate a fair number of responses to the website and added to our e-mailing list for the future." [Aug. 2005 email from Richard Mason]

More Support
In a January 13, 2006 interview with CNN anchor Zain Verjee, First Lady Laura Bush stated, "I'd love to see her run. She's terrific!" Dick Morris and Eileen McGann's October 2005 book CONDI vs. HILLARY. made the case for a Rice candidacy. In its July 28, 2005 issue Forbes magazine put Rice at number one in its 2005 ranking of the World's Most Powerful Women.

Rumors
-A rumor making the rounds in October 2005 (see Oct. 18 posting on USN&WR website) had Vice President Cheney stepping down because of involvement in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame and Rice being appointed to the position.
-A rumor making the rounds in February 2005 had Vice President Cheney stepping down for health reasons and Rice being appointed, placing her in a strong position to run for president in 2008.
-In 2004 there was some speculation that Vice President Cheney might be taken off the ticket. Supporters of Rice launched a website at www.bushrice04.org.

Readings

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. October 11, 2005. CONDI vs. HILLARY: The Next Great Presidential Race. Regan Books.
"As long-time strategists Dick Morris and Eileen McGann reveal in Condi vs. Hillary...Hillary's plans for higher office are vulnerable to a challenge from a most unexpected quarter: the Bush administration's secretary of state and former national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice. Rice is the only figure on the national scene who has the credentials, the credibility, and the charisma to lead the GOP in 2008. And, as this first book on the subject demonstrates, a race between these two commanding, but very different, women is a very real possibility -- and would inevitably prove one of the most fascinating and important races in American history. Blending insider insight and political foresight, Condi vs. Hillary surveys the strengths and weaknesses of the two candidates, finding persuasive clues about what we might expect from each of them as a chief executive."

Clarence Lusane. May 30, 2006. COLIN POWELL AND CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Foreign Policy, Race, and the New American Century. Praeger Publishers.
"Lusane has created a groundbreaking analysis of the intersection of racial politics and American foreign policy. This insightful work critically examines the roles played by former Secretary of State Colin Powell and current Secretary of State (and former National Security Advisor) Condoleezza Rice in the construction of U.S. foreign policy, exploring the ways in which their racial identity challenges conventional notions about the role of race in international relations."

Jacqueline Edmondson. June 30, 2006. CONDOLEEZZA RICE: A Biography. Greenwood Press.
"Condoleezza Rice's story, her experiences, and her contributions to our society, offer a unique opportunity to consider the social and historical discourses of our times, both past and present... "

Marcus Mabry. late Summer or early Fall 2006. TWICE AS GOOD: The Souls of Condoleezza Rice. Rodale.
Rodale, which bills itself as "the largest independent book publisher in the U.S.," announced on February 25, 2005 that it had acquired North American rights to an
biography of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by Newsweek Senior Editor and Chief of Correspondents Marcus Mabry. According to the press release Mabry should finish the manuscript for the book in about 18 months.
"In an effort to understand Rice's historic ascension to Secretary of State, her politics and her policies-and her chances of reaching an even higher office-Mabry will look to her childhood in Alabama as well as her terms as Provost at Stanford and as National Security Advisor in the Bush Administration, examining the pivotal role she has played in shaping the most aggressive and controversial American foreign policy in a generation."