Cynthetiq

I was talking to a friend about this today, would Condoleezza Rice been a better choice for the McCain ticket? (Her declining the position notwithstanding or not wishing to run for any public office.)

A Black woman, knowledge of foreign policy, she understands national security was against the war in Iraq.

I think she would have been an interesting pick. What do you think?

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twistedmosaic

100x better

if i hear my local talk radio play the 'pitbull with lipstick = hockey mom' soundbite one more time i'm going to rip my deck out of my dash and smash it.

Whether or not your'e Republican and/or agree with her, I think most can agree that Condoleezza actually would be a smart choice, has better (if slightly unorthodox) presidential qualifications and experience, and probably do a pretty decent job representing the Republican party in office.

ratbastid

Oh man, now SHE could have been plausibly spun into a formidable VP candidate. There's a lot of support for her on the right--she's seen as The Sensible One, even among people who are DONE with GWB. I think she would have provided a lot to the ticket.

Would I personally have preferred having her as VP instead of Palin? Tough call. I think probably.

roachboy

well, if what i've pieced together about the mc-cain campaign's assessment of the situation is correct, rice would not have worked for two basic reasons---she's way way too closely associated with the bush administration, which would have erased mccain's room to manoever out from under it and position himself as whatever he is trying to position himself as ("a maverick")--and she wouldn't have had anything like the same sort of effect that palin seems to have had on the far right base of the republican party.

on the other hand, rice would not have set into motion what appears to be happening according to aggregated polls not done by television networks, which is to push independents toward obama.

Pollster.com: Omero: The Palin Effect, Preliminary Results

this may or may not end up being meaningful as a result analysis, both because they're polls (the devils in the details) and because it's early in the game yet.

that aside, i would think rice a far better and smarter choice than palin.

but it didn't happen. of the two reasons that i can figure out, i suspect the first was the big one--that and i wonder if rice would have accepted in any event. if i were her, i'd want a vacation.
and if i was ambitious, i wouldn't want to get involved with a ticket likely to loose, particularly one that would be more likely to loose because of me (this loops back to the campaign's assessment of its own situation)

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twistedmosaic

Rice's Academic Accomplishments:
BA in political science, University of Denver
Master's Degree in political science, University of Notre Dame
PhD in Political Science, Graduate School of International Studies at Denver
Stanford Assistant Professor of Political Science, 1981-1987
Stanford Associate Professor of Political Science, 1987-1993
Stanford granted Tenure as Professor of Political Science, 1993-Present
Stanford Provost, 1993-1999

Palin's Academic Accomplishments:
BS in communications-journalism, with political science minor, University of Idaho

Rice's Political Positions held:
Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1989
Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, 1989-1991
National Security Advisor, 2001–2005
Secretary of State, 2005–present

Palin's Political Positions held:
City Council, 1992-1995
Mayor, 1996-2002
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (2003-2004, resigned)
Governor of Alaska, 2006-2008

Derwood

No, because she's a direct tie to the Bush years.

I think Olympia Snowe would have been a better choice, but she wouldn't appeal to the "base" (though her views very much fall in line with McCain's pre-campaign beliefs)

pig

Aside from roach's pragmatic analysis...of the two candidates in a quasi-vacuum for direct connection to bush...yes, she would be a much more qualified and intelligent spokesperson for the republican ticket. the speech that palin gave, which everyone seems to have loved...made me cringe. i actually got into a fight with my girlfriend because i was so infuriated by her tone and sound-bite statements, and my fear that people would find it resonant. all my right-wing friends think it was awesome. i think it was awful.

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Willravel

Rice isn't physically attractive, so I can't imagine McCain choosing her.

Derwood

I totally agree. When she started taking huge swipes and sucker punches at Obama, my thought was "who is this person and where does she have the gall to talk about people this way?"

Then again, it just carried on the theme already established by Romney and Giuliani

dc_dux

I must have been looking at a different Condi Rice for the last eight years.

Yes, she is a highly intelligent academician. IMO, she has been an utter failure in government.

As National Security Adviser, her role was to serve as the filter through which all policy recommendations were presented to the President. Cheney and Rumsfeld just ran right over her as if she didnt exist. She also completely ignored detailed information provided to her from the Clinton national security team about the al Queda threat in order to focus on a foreign policy objective with which she was more familiar and comfortable - missile defenses and the post-cold war Russian "threat" for the first eighth months of her term as security adviser.

As Secretary of State, career diplomats were on the verge of mass resignations, not because of her ideology, but rather as a result of her management and diplomatic skills or lack thereof. Bush had to bring in John Negroponte (a career diplomat and UN ambassador) to serve as the face of the State Department in most serious discussions with foreign counterparts for the last two years. She was reduced to a figurehead.

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ottopilot

Condoleezza Rice is phenomenal... no doubt.

But in absence of formal or higher education, lots of folks have done OK.
Abraham Lincoln - almost no formal education
George Washington - no college
Millard Fillmore - no college
Andrew Jackson - no college
Andrew Johnson - no college

Other famous drop-outs
Bill Gates
The Wright Brothers
Albert Einstein
etc.

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kutulu

Condi has one hell of an impressive resume, no doubt and she's obviously a hell of a lot more qualified but adding someone from teh Bush administration doesn't help the so-called 'mavrick' image.

matthew330

WHAT?? I can't be the only one that disagrees with this. I wouldn't say "hot", but attractive (yes physically), definitely.

Psycho Dad

Agreed. She would do very well as our VP, but for her to be picked this year it would be too easy for the Democrats to use this angle.
-----Added 5/9/2008 at 10 : 09 : 36-----
McCain to drop out?

Palin is hotter though.

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host

In the tiny, tiny, republican/chrisitan fundamentalist world....the main problem for Condi....besides her incompetence....her key attribute that brought her to the attention of the Bush I admin. was her expertise in Soviet studies..... a talent that has not served the Bush II admin., all that well.....is that Condi will not be able to shake off the barely suppressed evidence that she is gay.

She owns a home and has mixed her finances with a gay "Hollywood" liberal:
The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and ... - Google Book Search

matthew330

oh man....I thought host was scary with links

jorgelito

Good post Roachie, well written, Thank you.
-----Added 6/9/2008 at 04 : 51 : 55-----
Wow, that is racist. She is very attractive. Why wouldn't McCain choose her? Maybe he asked and she declined. Or maybe she is too close to Bush and from a strategic point of view, it may be best to distance oneself from Bush. But to assume McCain rejected Rice on her looks is just idiotic.
-----Added 6/9/2008 at 04 : 53 : 23-----
????????? What the fuck is this bullshit? Hostie has stooped to an all time low. Fucking asinine.

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ottopilot

In some-one's tiny tiny bigoted world, this post may seem reasonable.

__________________
"All the leaders of groups tend to be frauds. If they were not, it would be impossible for them to retain the allegiance of their dupes" - H.L. Mencken
"continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it." - George Washington on political parties

Tully Mars

Rice is gay? Don't know, don't care. Honestly I'd be less surprised to find out she's a lesbian then Hilary, a rumor the rights been trying to spread for years. In the end it's really her personal business, but if true it sure as hell wouldn't play well with the religious base of the GOP. Separate out the rumors and I don't think Rice would have fired up the base the way Palin has and Rice's ties to the Bush Admin. would be problematic in winning over independents and swing voters. So I think Palin was a better choice for McCain. She's more likely to help him win. But I think Rice is fifty times more qualified for the job.

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host

Uhh....isn't it Rice's party that is structured to keep gays in the closet, to institutionalize the idea that they are "sinners", that the way they express their love for each other, physically, is a crime? Isn't it part of the republican platform to deny gays the right to civil marriage ?

The POV that it takes to post what you posted, suggests a high level of denial. The source I cited is Glenn Kessler, Washington Post foreign affairs correspondent. He wrote that Rice bought a house with a gay male friend, and her "best friend", a lesbian, ten years ago. Rice and her best friend later bought out the interest of their gay male partner. Rice has no history of dating men, and no record of a serious relationship with a man....in 30 years as an adult.

Because of what the republican party stands for, and Rice's refusal to use the influence (if there is any remaining....) of the US State Dept. to publicly object to the execution in Iran of gay teenagers, for the crime of "being gay", I would volunteer my time to gathering info to make a much stronger case that she is a closeted hypocrite, as would many others, if she attempted a campaign for high political office, as a republican.

Poppinjay

I think Condi is hotter than Bag O' Hairspray Palin.

Will, time for new glasses? Sure, take a close in picture of ANYBODY and they'll have blemishes.

I think she would have been a much better choice. I've despised the Bush admin I&II, and I wouldn't consider her tied to his legacy. If anything, she's been held back by W's incompetence.

Host, I think it's pretty well known that she's dating former 49er Gene Washington.

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host

Could the truth be the opposite of your opinion?

hunnychile

If McCain & the repubs-re"dubs" i.e. W- HAD PICKED Condi, even I, a true Democrat might have thought this was an extremely smart choice and started to become worried about Obama's chances of being elected. **Though in truth I will vote for the best candidate, not the party.

Now, with Palin....No Contest. BINGO, It's done and the die has been cast. Anyone with good sense and a glimmer of hope for the future (really) is going to be smart enough to vote Democrat & for Obama in the upcoming election.

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