Real Clear Politics says Condi isn’t running because…..
Posted by Moonage on 17 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: 2008 Presidential Race
From RealClearPolitics:
The question: should people believe her?
The answer: definitely. Condoleeza Rice will not seek the presidency in 2008. The reason for this is that the position of Secretary of State is no longer one from which the presidency can reasonably be sought. The fact that Rice took that job and obviously has no intention of leaving it indicates that she has no interest in the presidency.
I have to completely disagree with this logic. The presidency can be sought from any position. Using the historical logic they use, it can be argued that it is no longer feasible that a peanut farmer will seek the presidency. Fact is, anyone can. Just because no one has recently is not some type of logical barrier to seeking the presidency. In Condi’s case, the fact she did accept the position only indicates that her love of history outweighed her sense of political maneuvering at that time. She saw it as an opportunity to make her stamp on history as any president would have. If anything, given her background, it shows that she would be more willing to run for the presidency to make her mark more pronounced on the history she so loves. I mean, think about it. Without doing so much as spending more than one day in office, she will be forever remembered as:
- The first female president.
- The first African-American president.
- The first African-American female president.
That’s just from getting elected. Her diplomatic skills mixed with the incredibly fluid world situation would allow her to make her mark all over the world right now. That has got to be compelling to a political history lover. I don’t think she would have chanced the criticism Colin Powell had to deal with if it were not for that respect of history.
Secondly, she has no reason to state she will be leaving the job any time soon. Given her loyalties to Bush, it’s a given she will be leaving her job in a few years. Given the leeway and control of situations Bush has given her versus the restraints an incoming president would be forced to enforce, she’ll be leaving regardless of who wins. So, might as well take her foreign diplomatic skills and experience to the next level.
RCP then concludes with:
It is interesting to note, by way of conclusion, that Rice responded to the question about the 2008 race while she was literally on her way out the door to Africa. That should tell you all you need to know. Compare Rice to the other 2008 candidates: McCain, Romney, Allen, Clinton, etc. The latter are today thinking about and preparing for their campaigns. Condoleeza Rice is today thinking about US-Liberian relations. What else do you need to know? Condi will not run in 2008.
The latter are going nowhere while Condi is rising to the top regardless of their plans. I really think Condi’s a lot sharper than the rest mentioned. If she is as sharp as I think she is. She can easily see that they are not getting any traction. Why do anything different than what she’s doing now?
She has no reason to commit to running right now and undermining her efforts to do her job right without all the distractions. The very early obvious efforts by others are not helping them at all. If Condi doesn’t have an advisor, I’ll take the job. My first advice, keep doing what you’re doing. If you wanna run, we’ll talk again in the summer of 2007.
Until then, it’s fun chatter and nothing more.
No Comments »
