News and Commentary Archive for March, 2005 March 1, 2005: Matt May, acting Michigan Chairperson, and blogger in his own right, published an interview with Jay Nordlinger, editor of the National Review, discussing the grassroots efforts to elect Dr. Rice in 2008. Matt promises more insights from the NR editor in the near future.
March 1, 2005: The TEAM CONDI online forum is now accepting user registrations. Please be patient as we work out the technical details. We want this to help build our online community of supporters of Dr. Rice. Chris Jefferson is the forum administrator. As the forum grows, as we believe it will, topic moderators will be needed to help Chris maintain our online community. Register as a user and e-mail Chris if you'd like to help out.
March 2, 2005: In an Op-Ed piece that appeared in Maine's Magic City Morning Star; author, Harvard graduate, and pastor, Joseph Grant Swank, Jr. points out the Dr. Rice "is increasingly taking the lead" in the administration's foreign policy endeavors while ignoring critics from the left with her usual style and grace.
March 3, 2005: Are you a "political junkie"? Are you a "political activist in training"? Or maybe you are already involved in politics on the local level, in the politically-oriented press, on the Internet, at your university campus, etc. If this is the case then you need to read what Matt Lewis has to say. After hearing him speak at CPAC last month in Washington, DC; we began to realize what neophytes we were. We would characterize him as "political intelligence, tactical competence and sophistication without arrogance." You can visit his website and receive his valuable e-mail newsletters here. In the interest of full disclosure, we have no professional, or other, relationship with Mr. Lewis other than having attended seminars where he was a speaker.
March 3, 2005: Are you a blogger for "Condi"? Send us your link information and we'll post your link -- unless you are "off of your medication" or a "kool-aid-a-holic" in our opinion. Click here to send us your link information.
March 3, 2005: The New York Post published an article, CONDI-MANIA has hit the Internet big-time! In Debra Orin's Inside Washington column, she describes the explosion in online "buzz" regarding Dr. Rice. The only oddity in the piece was the description of a "dream ticket" pairing her with Sen. John McCain. That certainly doesn't reflect the sentiment of most of us at AFR. Considering the stormy past relationship of the Arizona Senator with President Bush, and Dr. Rice's personal commitment to the latter, it seems like a strange match-up to us -- and one that we haven't heard seriously mentioned before. (An AFR poll, showed Giuliani the favorite running mate for Dr. Rice. We are going to repeat this poll in the near future.)
March 4, 2005: As this is being posted, our New Hampshire Chairperson, Shari Demers, is at the Lincoln-Reagan dinner sponsored by the Young Republicans in NH. The after dinner speaker is none other than Senator Bill Frist. AFR has a entire table of supporters there and has an informational table with t-shirts, stickers, campaign buttons, etc. to recruit more Condistas. Shari will be sending photos from the event, and we'll post links to any press reports or video.
March 4, 2005: After a brief appearance this morning by your humble webmaster on Fox and Friends about Condi-Mania, the website and PayPal were jammed! (Even our hit counter was disabled briefly!) We appreciate your patience in placing your orders. In the next 10-14 days we hope to have a more advanced online "shopping cart" system to avoid these problems in the future. Welcome to all of our new visitors! Please sign the guestbook, or join the TEAM CONDI online forum to get on our mailing list, exchange thoughts, ideas etc. All orders should go out in the next 10 days, we are just now catching up from CPAC in Washington, DC last month. Thanks again for your patience and understanding -- we are strictly a volunteer organization. If you're in the Miami area this weekend and would like to help "stuff envelopes", let us know!
March 4, 2005: Condi-Mania? "Dr. Rice, the rock star"? These are the terms that are causing all the "buzz" about a potential candidacy in 2008. The New York Post, NewsMax, Dick Morris and bloggers across the country are using these terms to talk about a candidacy for an election over 3 years away. Our goal at AFR is to help keep up the excitement, or "buzz" if you will, until we hear Dr. Rice's acceptance speech at the Republican Convention. Yes, "we have a dream" -- and it's in the process of coming true!
March 4, 2005: Is She Running? This is, obviously, one of the most frequently posed questions to Condistas. The last direct answer Dr. Rice gave to this question (of which we are aware) was in a David Frost interview. She said, "No one should count on such things." Well, in the world of politics, there is "a lot of daylight" between "absolutely, positively not" and Dr. Rice's answer. We are certain that Dr. Rice would run -- if faced with the prospect of a Democrat occupying the White House (especially now with Howard Dean at the helm) that would dismantle the progress made by two Bush (43) administrations. All other, serious Republican candidates suffer from "Bob Dole Syndrome" -- qualified, deserving, but ultimately unelectable. Do you really believe that the girl that was nurtured by her parents to believe that she could become President (even if she couldn't have a hamburger at Woolworth's) and who told her parents, while visiting Washington, that one day she would live in the White House, and who has been at the right hand of the three Bush administrations is simply going to return to California to watch football on Sundays, play the piano and write her memoirs while Hillary moves back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? We don't think so either! March 5, 2005: Due to audio distortion on the initial video recording, we have "re-mastered" the video of the Judy Woodruff's CNN Inside Politics segment of February 18, 2005, while several of us Condistas were at CPAC. Ed Henry did an admirable job of communicating the "buzz" that was generated by Dr. Rice and her 2008 candidacy. This time we included a few remarks by Ken Mehlman after he got to hear Condoleezza Will Lead Us. Even if you seen it before, it's worth watching again. Click here to see the newly "re-mastered" video.
March 5, 2005: The Village Voice usually isn't high up on our "reading list". So it took a while until the March, 1, 2005, article by James Ridgeway  came to our attention. In his column Mondo Washington (isn't that just tre cool?), Condi's Growing Fan Club, European tour '05: A jumping-off point for a White House run in '08?, he calls Dr. Rice an "instant frontrunner" who "came out of nowhere." (If you call a lifetime of extraordinary achievement "nowhere" -- culminating in her confirmation as Secretary of State.) It is interesting to hear a left-leaning columnist grudgingly admit that "Condimania momentarily buried the Clintons" and refer to pro-Hillary pronouncements by Joe Biden ("that tired old front man" in his words) with a dismissive "blah blah". Could it be that the liberals in our country, even if they don't agree with Dr. Rice ideologically, are realizing that she is a woman that the country could respect and admire as a future President? Ridgeway goes on to say, "In the midst of all this, possible presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani sank without a trace." As much as we'd like this to be true, this is wishful thinking on the left. His reasoning is that Giuliani is too liberal. Tell that to conservative CPAC 2005 attendees who picked Giuliani last month as their favorite potential candidate for 2008, edging out Dr. Rice 19% to 18% among the field of top Republican presidential hopefuls.
 March 5, 2005: Shari Demers, our New Hampshire Chairperson, attended the Lincoln-Reagan dinner sponsored by NH Young Republicans last night. Senator Bill Frist was the after-dinner speaker and was one of the few people who attended the Manchester, NH, event who did not seem excited about the possibility of a presidential bid by Dr. Rice. All of us at AFR admire Senator Frist, in fact, Shari was quoted by the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper as saying, "He'd make a good Vice-President." She also spoke of the Hillary-Condi match-up for 2008 as well,
"We're going to get her to run,
and beat Hillary Clinton woman-to-woman!"
Well done, Shari! See the C-SPAN video, click here.
March 5, 2005: Teens for Condi?! We have had several inquiries by teenagers, 14 and up, who will be old enough to vote in the 2008 election and want to help with the AFR effort. If you are one of those teens, please e-mail the webmaster or Chris Jefferson, the TEAM CONDI moderator. (Please get your parent's permission first! We don't want anyone saying that we are trying to "brainwash" their kids!)
March 7, 2005: The State Dept. website posted a March 1, 2005, interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News. This supersedes the "no one should count on that" comment to David Frost. An excerpt follows:
MR. KARL: To quickly change subjects. You've seen some of the buzz about you running for President in 2008 and there's even a website, there's even a Condoleezza Rice for President song, a theme song.
(Laughter.)
SECRETARY RICE: Oh, really?
MR. KARL: Yes. Would you consider it?
SECRETARY RICE: No. I'm really respectful of those who do run for office. I know what I do well and I know what I like to do and I'm really going to try to concentrate on being a good Secretary of State.
MR. KARL: So you would categorically rule out running for President in 2008?
SECRETARY RICE: Jonathan, I'm going to try to be a good Secretary of State, and then, as I've said many, many times, there's always NFL Commissioner.
MR. KARL: Right. So it sounds like there’s a door open now.
SECRETARY RICE: Jonathan, I'm going to try to be a good Secretary of State and see if I can do this job well, and then we'll see if the NFL is open.
MR. KARL: The NFL and maybe something else. We'll see. Thank you very much, Secretary Rice.
We'll leave the interpretation to you.
March 7, 2005: Dick Pohlman, of Knight Ridder (KR) Newspapers, wrote a column for that appeared Sunday, 03/06/05, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San José Mercury News, and other KR outlets, Frist Among Republicans Observing Tradition in New Hampshire. Speaking about the NH gathering where Senator Frist was sticking his toe in the Presidential waters, he noted, "Frist didn't rock the hall," and went on to mention, "the 'draft Condi' crowd had a table at the banquet." After Dr. Rice's European tour (Described by President Bush, "She took Europe by storm.") we sincerely doubt that anyone would say (or write) that she didn't "rock the house" when the time comes for her to visit NH.
March 7, 2005: The Conservative Voice on 03/05/05 posted Condi and Arlen by Dr. Jack Wheeler. He complained about fellow conservatives "chastising" him for "seeming to endorse" Condi. He goes on to "plead guilty" and explains his reasoning as follows:
"Nonetheless, the nightmare of a PIAPS Presidency – Hillary – trumps all other considerations for me. Should she be the Democrat nominee, there is only one GOP candidate who could defeat her: Condi." (Emphasis ours)
March 7, 2005: The Americans for Dr. Rice online "Guestbook" will cease to be active March 31, 2005. We have been using this "outsourced" solution, but have outgrown it. Until now, signing the guestbook typically resulted in your inclusion in our e-mail list. However, much of the utility of an online guestbook has been replaced by the new online forum TEAM CONDI. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to transfer your information from the Guestbook to the TEAM CONDI user groups. Please click on the TEAM CONDI button and register today.
March 10, 2005: Chad Groening and Jody Brown wrote Black Conservatives Take On Rice's Liberal Democratic Opposition that appeared on Agape Press headlines and was subsequently posted on the Black Christians Network. We regret that this did not come to our attention sooner at the time of Dr. Rice's confirmation as Secretary of State. However, it still is an incisive piece that deserves our attention, albeit somewhat belatedly.
March 10, 2005: Please be patient with us! Due to the overwhelming response to the website, we have been SWAMPED! There have been delays in restocking -- after CPAC in February cleaned us out. We are shipping out your orders just as fast as we can. Hopefully, with a new online shopping cart system, soon to be operational, we will be more efficient in the future. All orders through March 3, 2005, have been sent this week. We appreciate that everyone wants their Condi gear ASAP, but please realize that we are an ALL-VOLUNTEER organization. There have been many sleepless nights on the part of the volunteers who " make it all happen" in South Florida. All this week unpaid volunteers, your webmaster and our families have stayed up until 2 AM (and sometimes later) filling your orders. On top of all this we have to maintain meticulous records since we are now a 527 political group that has to report all of this to the FEC. If you live in the South Florida area, want to see Dr. Rice become our next president, like to drink lots of coffee, like to work late, and don't like to get paid; please let us know, we have a position for you.
March 11, 2005: The Drudge Report is reporting that the Washington Times interviewed Dr. Rice today in which she refused to rule out a run for the White House in 2008. We'll post links and commentary after the interview is published.
March 12, 2005: The Washington Times, when it's online edition was updated at 11:33 pm yesterday, posted a March 11, 2005, interview with Dr. Rice by Bill Sammon that gave illuminating responses to key questions. She would not categorically rule out a 2008 run for the presidency -- although she didn't give a definitive affirmative response, either. On the divisive issue of abortion, she described her position, as "mildly pro-choice," but went on to say that she is "in effect kind of libertarian" wanting minimal governmental intervention. However, as the interview continued Dr. Rice stated that, "I am a strong proponent of parental notification. I am a strong proponent of a ban on late-term abortion. These are all things that I think unite people." She also stated her opposition to federal funding for abortions, as well. This is a MUST read for all Condistas.
March 12, 2005: Tomorrow, MSNBC's Meet the Press will have Dr. Rice as a guest for the  first time since becoming Secretary of State. In light of her recent statements, it should prove to be an interesting appearance.
March 13, 2005: MSNBC's Meet the Press, ABC's This Week and CBS's Face the Nation all featured Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this morning. At first she stated, "I have no intention of running." And when pressed, "I won't run." After the elation of Friday night when Drudge first reported that Dr. Rice "wouldn't rule out" a 2008 run, this was a "reality check" -- after all she is our Secretary of State and cannot be constantly hounded by questions of a possible presidential bid as she was this morning. However, she would not give the "Shermanesque" pledge of "If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve." to Tim Russert. Also, we find the recent positioning of Karen Hughes, one of the President's closest campaign confidants within Dr. Rice's State Department very telling -- perhaps actions speak louder than words in this case. With the memory of Eisenhower's being "drafted" for the nomination, we are not deterred. Let's remember, we are a "draft" movement and continue to believe that she is our best hope for the future and (at the risk of repeating ourselves):
We are certain that Dr. Rice would run -- if faced with the prospect of a Democrat occupying the White House (especially now with Howard Dean at the helm) that would dismantle the progress made by two Bush (43) administrations. All other, serious Republican candidates suffer from "Bob Dole Syndrome" -- qualified, deserving, but ultimately unelectable. Do you really believe that the girl that was nurtured by her parents to believe that she could become President (even if she couldn't have a hamburger at Woolworth's) and who told her parents, while visiting Washington, that one day she would live in the White House, and who has been at the right hand of the three Bush administrations is simply going to return to California to watch football on Sundays, play the piano and write her memoirs while Hillary moves back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? We don't think so either!
March 13, 2005: The Washington Post today on page one of the Style section printed a report, Careful, That Dish is Hot!, by Neely Tucker about last night's Gridiron dinner, an annual Washington event for the past 120 years, that was attended by Dr. Rice, Colin Powell, Alan Greenspan, Tim Russert, Sam Donaldson and other Washington personalities. The dinner is an "off the record" event hosted by 65 top Washington journalists who then proceed to "roast" the invited guests. When Dr. Rice arrived (impeccably dressed as usual), she was greeted by onlookers applause, cheers and shouts of, "We love you Condi !" (You have to register at the Post's website for access to the article, but it is free.)
March 15, 2005: The Washington Times editor, Wesley Pruden, wrote in his column today, Playing Ping-Pong with Condi Rice,
"Miss Rice, as the reader can see, left escape holes big enough to accommodate a Sherman tank. She knows all the ways to say no in this town, to deny emphatically without absolutely, positively, cross-my-heart and hope-to-die denying. The exercise is, of course, arcane to the point of silliness anywhere but Washington. Condi Rice or anyone else is perfectly entitled to make up her mind now and change it later."
March 15, 2005: Website orders through March 5, 2005, have been sent. This weekend we should reduce the backlog as we host an "envelope stuffing party" (and BBQ) here in Miami. If your order from last month has not arrived, email purchase@AmericansForRice.com. Also, if there are any errors in your order, please e-mail us to let us know. We have been known to make a mistake, or two, as each volunteer has to learn the order, shipping and FEC reporting system. (We have also been known to consume an alcoholic beverage, or two, during our "envelope stuffing" parties -- which may account for our increased error rates after midnight!) Your continued patience is appreciated. All South Florida Condistas are invited to help us out this weekend. March 15, 2005: The Daily Show? Jon Stewart mentions us and briefly crashed our website and hit counters. (Unfortunately, we were updating the site at the same time.) We never realized that he had such a big audience! Is the Comedy Channel bigger than Fox? After reviewing the website traffic we definitely owe our heartfelt thanks to you, Jon. March 15, 2005: Shari Demers, our New Hampshire Chairperson, is very pleased to announce an addition to her merry band of Granite State Condistas. Joining her as a co-chairperson is Fred Bramante, a businessman and Republican well-known to Granite State political insiders. We'll post a brief bio for him soon. Gaining Fred's support and, more importantly, his active participation is a major coup for us.
March 15, 2005: Dale Switzer wrote in the Blogger News Network, Condi Is Running for President. His analysis outlines the trek to the White House for a modern-day candidate.
March 14, 2005: Cheer up Condistas! OK troops, we were all disappointed by Dr. Rice's "I won't run." statements on the Sunday talk shows. No one said this was going to be easy and, after all, we are a DRAFT CONDI group. When was the last time that someone who was "drafted" was happy about it? Have you ever seen the before and after pictures of presidents? Who in their right mind would want the job? And what did you think she was going to say? We are only 2 months into the Bush Administration and one of the "pressing" questions of the day is "Condi in '08". Dr. Rice cannot do her job with reporters questioning her every decision against the white hot flame of future presidential political considerations. Also, she and the White House have to work with the Senators and Governors that have presidential aspirations of their own -- however futile, selfish and misguided they may be. All day, reporters have been calling us asking if we were going to shut down the website, etc. NOT A CHANCE! Crystal Dueker was in the Tampa area today with a group of 30+ Republican women who were elated to hear that we are pressing on. Chris Jefferson is adding new users to the TEAM CONDI forum daily. Sheri Demers in NH is planning our radio promotions in that state and growing a grass roots organization (The same one that greeted Senator Frist at his presidential "coming out" party earlier this month.) that will be crucial in the early primaries. On Fox this morning, the word went out that we are still here. Website traffic is continuing to grow daily -- for an election three and a half years away. E-mail's keep coming in that, "We have to convince Dr. Rice to run." or, "What can we do to make this happen?" DO NOT listen to the beltway pundits. They are not there when people make spontaneous expressions of support; honking their horns, waving, etc.; in response to your Condi bumper stickers. They are not there in the Wal-Mart parking lot when you return to your car and see it surrounded by people asking "Where did you get that bumper sticker?" They are not there at the group meetings where Condi supporters light up when they put their campaign button on their jacket. They are not there when the website crashes from thousands visitors at the mere mention of Dr. Rice's name in the news. They are not there at 3 AM when a volunteer stuffs an envelope with one more bumper sticker or campaign button -- putting in one "extra" (out of their own pocket) to a Condi supporter in their home state. No, the "experts" do not see these expressions of support, and yes even "love", for the woman that they believe will unite the country. (Do you really think that any of the other candidates, Democrat or Republican, could exit their automobile in Washington and have onlookers spontaneously scream, "We love you, Condi !" as occurred this past weekend when Dr. Rice attended the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, DC?)
All right, Dr. Rice won't run from her current position of Secretary of State -- so be it. And maybe she will continue to say that even if she becomes Vice-President before 2008. She's too busy carrying out the President's foreign policy and reforming a not-so-Republican friendly bureaucracy into an instrument of a conservative administration -- and potentially reforming it for her administration in 2008 and beyond. She's to be commended for doing such an important job and NOT fueling the rumors of a potentially divisive campaign that could distract the Bush administration from the important issues that it is addressing NOW -- like the War on Terror, etc.
So our job is that much more crucial and difficult. If you believe, as we do, that there is no other Republican with the charisma and leadership to win in 2008, then join us as we build the grassroots organization that will keep the dream alive and be a Condista. If you believe as we do that all other potential Republican candidates for President in 2008 suffer from "Bob Dole Syndrome" (qualified, deserving and worthy of being President, but unelectable) then be a Condista. If you believe as we do, that Senator Frist is a great Republican, wonderful physician, and excellent Senate majority leader, but is the "Republican Al Gore", then be a Condista. If you believe, as we do, that continuing the current "take the war to the terrorists" strategy is preferable to any modern day Neville Chamberlain-type "appeasement", then be a Condista. If you believe, as we do, that opposition to the Castro-inspired, Chavez-like south-of-the-border subversion is essential, without equivocation, then be a Condista. If you are terrified by a return to the Clinton era, govern by triangulation, campaign-from-the-center and govern-from-the-left political expediency that a potential Hillary presidency would represent, then be a Condista. If you are disgusted by the "politics of 'no'" of Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi, then be a Condista. If you support our troops overseas with the same enthusiasm as the soldiers that greeted Dr. Rice in Germany this month, then be a Condista. If you support the notion that a person should be judged, not by the color of their skin, "but the content of their character," then be a Condista. If you believe that placing an intelligent, educated, politically astute, woman into the highest office in the land would clearly show that in America you are judged on your merits, not your race, sex, creed, or religion then be a Condista. If you believe that a woman of Dr. Rice's abilities, integrity and quality, would not ignore the call of the American people to lead them, then be a Condista.
We are going to lobby every potential delegate, attendee, guest, usher, doorman, security guard, hot dog vendor, men's room attendant, janitor, etc. that will be at the 2008 Republican convention to be ready for the Condista Revolution. Any potential Republican nominee, is hereby forewarned, you better win on the first ballot, because we are going to make sure who'll win on the second.
A mainstream reporter, who'll remain nameless, asked us today what it would take for us to stop our efforts. Well, here is our answer: "She could give the Shermanesque pledge 1000 times on national television, but until we hear Dr. Rice in front of the 2008 Republican convention; after the delegates have screamed her name, CON-DI, CON-DI, CON-DI, CON-DI, CON-DI for twenty minutes or more and the Condistas demonstrating outside the convention hall are hoarse from singing her praises; refuse the nomination -- WE SHALL NOT REST. She can refuse to run, but we continue to believe that Dr. Rice would not ignore, nor reject, the appeal of the American people. And we plan on being the instrument of that appeal on behalf of the American people.
With apologies to Thomas Paine:
"These are the times that try Condistas' souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his/her cause; but those that stand now, deserve the thanks of man and woman. Tyranny (Hillary?), like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated."
March 17, 2005: Somebody doesn't like us! Two nights in a row, after being mentioned on the Daily Show, viewers of that program apparently have managed to attack our site and exceed our Internet bandwidth allotment. We must be doing something right!
March 18, 2005: Your orders are in the mail. Due to the work of a small band of VERY DEDICATED volunteers night after night your orders for Condista items are on the way.
March 18, 2005: If you were in Washington, DC, this week -- especially around K Street-- you might have come dangerously close to several Condistas who were visiting the Capital. (Or dare we use the word, infiltrating? Those who are frightened by a 2008 candidacy by Dr. Rice might use the word, infesting!) Look for a report from our political "cloak and dagger" exploits in the Capital in the not too distant future. We still are amused when we see (or hear) ourselves described as "political operatives". March 20, 2005: Eugene Robinson in his Washington Post column A Race to Dream About concluded "bring it on" after contemplating the meaning of Dr. Rice's "I won't run." statements on the Sunday political talk show circuit last week and the potential for a Hillary-Condi match-up in 2008. (Sorry we missed this earlier, but the Post isn't our first reading priority of the week. Besides, it's hard to read after it's been at the bottom of our bird cage for a couple of days.) He starts his column with the rhetorical, "So did she jump or was she pushed? Back from the brink, I mean." This is a good point. None other than the Washington Times editor in chief, Wesley Pruden, expressed his, how shall we say this, "irritation" at having had his editorial board being given the tantalizing story of "Rice won't 'rule out' a run in 2008." (He later wrote that this question was "fed" to them by Rice's "people" prior to the interview.) This story was reported on Drudge Friday, March 11, 2005, and subsequently published in the Washington Times the following day. Then, the Times editorial board was turned into a "journalistic jackass" on Sunday morning when Dr. Rice came, oh so close, but not quite, to making an absolutely, positively Shermanesque pledge on Sunday morning with NBC's Tim Russert, who tried to make it as easy as possible for Dr. Rice to make that pledge with graphics of the six Secretaries of State who became President and of Sherman himself with his oft-quoted "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve." statement.
Mr. Pruden felt obligated, as an editor, to explain his paper's Saturday report with an "epilogue" column entitled "Playing Ping-Pong with Condi Rice" (see our previous posting on this column) where he wrote that "Miss Rice, as the reader can see, left escape holes big enough to accommodate a Sherman tank." (Please note: Mr Pruden, subconsciously -- or perhaps not, referred to Dr. Rice as "Condi Rice" and "Miss Rice" a subtle expression of his lack of appreciation of "being played" by Dr. Rice, and/or her staff.)
Now, we can only speculate what must have transpired between Friday night and Sunday morning to have caused Dr. Rice to have risked angering the editorial board of the Washington Times, widely regarded as the only "Republican-friendly" newspaper in DC, but we have a pretty good idea. The Bush administration needs the cooperation, if not active support, of several Republicans who fancy themselves as serious presidential contenders. Next, foreign ministers of other countries are irritated when THEY are not the center of attention at a press conference with Dr. Rice. Her potential presidential bid would be the central question of every news conference unless she had issued some sort of denial.
Back to Mr Robinson's column, we never thought of ourselves as a "fan club" -- but to a certain extent he his correct. We are a 527 political group, or "admirers from afar" and Dr. Rice has been described as a political "rock star" by more than one commentator. We have been so impressed by Dr. Rice that we have dedicated ourselves to her becoming our commander-in-chief. We are amused, rather than insulted, by his, rather sexist, analogy of us to the teenaged female fan of a rock star. As we recall, John Kerry, and his advisors, initially underestimated the impact of the "Swifties". Perhaps, we are underestimated, as well.
March 20, 2005: Can An Evangelical Pro-Lifer Support Condoleezza For President? This is an interesting analysis by Dale Switzer answering the false supposition that Dr. Rice "unelectable" in the Republican primaries because of her "reluctantly pro-life" position. March 22, 2005: Peking Duck Anyone? We never realized that the Chinese were so intensely interested in a possible run by Dr. Rice in 2008 until we found an article in XINHUA online, Internet site of the official Chinese news agency. Then, at lunch today our fortune cookie told us (along with our lucky numbers for the lottery), "Condi and Hillary in 2008."
After that, we checked out China Today and the Chinese zodiac to better understand the Chinese perspective on Senator Clinton and Secretary Rice. They say Hillary was born in the Year of the Pig: "You are a splendid companion, an intellectual with a very strong need to set difficult goals and carry them out. You are sincere, tolerant, and honest but by expecting the same from others, you are incredibly naive. Your quest for material goods could be your downfall. The Pig would be best in the arts as an entertainer, or possible a lawyer." Dr. Rice was born in the year of the Horse: "Your capacity for hard work is amazing. Your are your own person-very independent. While intelligent and friendly, you have a strong streak of selfishness and sharp cunning and should guard against being egotistical. Your sign suggests success as an adventurer, scientist, poet, or politician."
Of course, it occurred to us, while browsing through Wal-Mart this weekend, with its "Made in China" products, that they are headquartered in Arkansas, and Dr. Rice -- while in China -- did the unthinkable and attended church. Now let's do a little "free association" (remember Psychology 101?). "China", "Clinton", "Wal-Mart", "Rice". Which of these doesn't belong? Do you thing that the Chinese have, as they say in Arkansas at the dog track, "a dog in this race"? Maybe they do, and it hangs out around the US Senate -- then again, we didn't win the lottery with our Fortune Cookie "lucky numbers".
March 25, 2005: Tomorrow, Americans for Dr. Rice will be in Las Vegas at the Enterprise Library. Crystal Dueker, our research person and acting North Dakota chairperson, will be "spreading the word" in "sin city". She issued the following press release:
Americans for Dr. Rice, (a 527 committee dedicated to electing Condoleezza Rice to the presidency in 2008) will host a brown bag seminar on Saturday, March 26. The multi-purpose room at Enterprise Library, 25 East Shelbourne Avenue, Las Vegas will be the site for a public discussion from 11:00 am to 1:pm. The topic is “Should Madam Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice run for the White House in 2008?” Crystal Dueker, the acting national co-chair/spokesperson for Americans for Dr. Rice will host the seminar. Polling data and booklets of information will be shared with the public. All people interested in discussing the issue will be welcome. For those unable to attend, americansforrice.com provides information as well by computer.
Crystal Dueker lives in Fargo, North Dakota. She can be reached at 701-306-2705.
March 27, 2005: Conservatives on Pot? The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes and Policy Review's Tod Lindberg appear to have been smoking the "wacky tabacky" when they proposed VP Dick Cheney as the GOP standard bearer in 2008. The Kansas City Star's, March 26, 2005, column "The Buzz" (no pun intended) points this out. This sign of desperation for ideological purity is just another reason why Dr. Rice should be our candidate in '08. March 27, 2005: Conservatives on Pot? The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes and Policy Review's Tod Lindberg appear to have been smoking the "wacky tabacky" when they proposed VP Dick Cheney as the GOP standard bearer in 2008. The Kansas City Star's, March 26, 2005, column "The Buzz" (no pun intended) points this out. This sign of desperation for ideological purity is just another reason why Dr. Rice should be our candidate in '08. March 27, 2005: Is Dr. Rice the Bush administration's version of Real Politik? Howard Lafranci of the Christian Science Monitor seems to imply as much in his article Rice in the Spotlight in which he also opens with the following comment:
"She's in the news for her fashion sensations and for a so-categorically-denied-it-sounded-like-yes response to speculation she'll run for president in 2008." March 29, 2005: The Evansville Courier & Press, an Indiana newspaper, ran a brief editorial on March 22, "The Issue: Secretary of State says she will not run for President. Our view: Don't hold her to it." This is not an "in-depth" piece, but "conventional wisdom" is again pointing towards a 2008 candidacy. Speaking of her Sunday Morning, March 13, political talk show denials: "In truth she had to say something like that. If she had even halfway hinted an interest, all of her foreign-policy decisions as Secretary of State would be seen as somehow boosting her presidential ambitions. She would be endlessly second-guessed."
|
