Condistas Every One? Condoleeza Rice's Broad Appeal
Richard has this piece about Condoleeza Rice today, which focuses largely on her music. I'm interested in the end of Richard's piece though where he writes "If only she wasn't pro-choice she'd be beyond reproach". This is something a lot of people forget about Rice - she was a democrat until 1982 and changed to the Republican Party because she didn't agree with Jimmy Carter's foreign policy. In fact by all accounts she is a democrat on most issues (by which I mean she holds views that most people would identify as typically democrat views); foreign policy is her sticking point with the Dems.
One thing that struck me when speaking with politics-types in Washington (of which there are, unsurprisingly, a great number) was that many people felt that they could live with Condi as president - particularly democrats. Most felt Hilary would get the nomination and that Condi wouldn't run (both predictions are probably right I feel) but were not worried by a Condi v. Hilary race, feeling that on balance either would be good. Perhaps she's the kind of unifying president America needs?
(Whether she'd be good for the world at large is a completely different question, of course... She gets major kudos for her development of the notion of transformative diplomacy though).
Update Today's London Independent has an interesting piece contemplating the PR-machine behind Condi and what it's all for.
One thing that struck me when speaking with politics-types in Washington (of which there are, unsurprisingly, a great number) was that many people felt that they could live with Condi as president - particularly democrats. Most felt Hilary would get the nomination and that Condi wouldn't run (both predictions are probably right I feel) but were not worried by a Condi v. Hilary race, feeling that on balance either would be good. Perhaps she's the kind of unifying president America needs?
(Whether she'd be good for the world at large is a completely different question, of course... She gets major kudos for her development of the notion of transformative diplomacy though).
Update Today's London Independent has an interesting piece contemplating the PR-machine behind Condi and what it's all for.
Is there anything about this woman that I ought to find objectionable enough to put even a tiny dent in her bright shiny appeal? (Apart from the supporting Bush bit, I mean?) Everything I've read about her makes her appear to be... well, swoonworthy, really. Why aren't there more like her?
Posted by
Anonymous |
7:07 PM
That she has Democratic leanings on political issues other than foreign policy is typical of most neo-conservatives. She's an interesting and appealing figure, and one of the reasons I began to open myself up to the other side of American politics over a year ago.
Posted by
Kevin Breathnach |
3:09 PM
The notion that she's a liberal is a common misconception among the Washington chattering classes. It's not true.
Condi is an absolutist on 2nd Amendment issues, that is to say, she is for an absolute right to private, unregistered ownership of firearms. She is for low taxation and low government spending. On the issue of abortion, she opposes a federal role while, I suspect, opposing the architecture of Roe v. Wade as an example of poorly written federal interference.
Condi describes herself as a conservative Republican.
Posted by
Chris |
7:13 AM
Perhaps she's the kind of unifying president America needs?
We'll see. How's she on gay marriage, then? (And to the point, what does one Richard WAghorne think of it?)
Posted by
On Leave EWI |
2:11 PM