Million Dollar Condi
By Isaiah Z. Sterrett (03/03/05)
WHO WOULD have thought, back when Condoleezza Rice was serving as provost of Stanford, that her presence in Europe would one day provoke the Washington Post to opine about “the erotic nature of high heels”?
Secretary of State Rice has already done a better job than her predecessor, erstwhile Republican star Colin Powell, and she’s only been on the job for a few weeks. Powell was all about Washington order and military gentility, while Rice—like Rumsfeld—represents the Bush-led modernization of U.S. foreign policy. Powell was boring in a brown suit, while Rice makes the Post hot and bothered in her sleek leather boots and glossy anti-Albright coat.
The military newspaper Stars and Stripes reports that troops at Wiesbaden Army Airfield were elated by the Secretary’s stopover there. “I’m excited about seeing Condoleezza Rice,” Spc. Katrina Hunter said. “If I could shake her hand, I’d probably pass out.”
Similar sentiments surely surrounded the incomparable Hilary Swank at the Oscars Sunday evening. For those of us who well up with Mo Chuisle pride at the mere suggestion of such a thing, this came as no surprise. Indeed, this has been a week of few surprises: Condi shows poise and guts, which makes the press testy, and then Clint Eastwood, right-leaning Hollywood outsider, sweeps the Academy Awards.
Secretary Rice must feel awfully out of place in Germany, much like Swank and Eastwood felt at the Kodak over the weekend. Condi has to deal with Gerhard Schroeder, and the “Million Dollar Baby” crew have to deal with Chris Rock.
Condi’s better than any Secretary of State we’ve had in a while—and she’s more fashionable than anyone we’ve had in even longer. “Million Dollar Baby,” a devastating love story of Shakespearean dimension, takes that same honor to the history of the Best Picture Oscar. It makes “Braveheart” look like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” just as Condi—and her leather boots—make Albright look like the naïve dupe that she is.
What we’re seeing, at least at this young stage of Rice’s State Department stint, is someone willing to stand up and do something—as opposed to the Colin Powell method of waiting around endlessly doing nothing. Had Powell not been around, we could have skipped that distasteful U.N. drivel and gone right to the war, expediting the liberation of Iraq, and the Iraqi elections. That’s what Rice and Rumsfeld wanted to do, and likely what Bush wanted, too.
Powell’s a lovely fellow and all, but he lacked the vision to be successful at the State Department. With Rice now at the helm of our diplomatic efforts abroad, we get to read headlines like, “Rice Steps Up Pressure on Syria,” and, “Rice Delays Canada Trip as Relations Turn Chilly.”
(That last one’s a doozy, isn’t it? The United States has a plan to intercept missiles before they hit North America, and Canada won’t go along with it. If we were a less kind nation, our response would be along the lines of, “Fine, if you want Kim Jong Il’s missiles cruising above Toronto, have it your way.” But we’re better than that, so we’ll protect our neighbors to the North regardless of whatever lunatic position they take. All they have to do is whine, and they’ll get what they want.)
On the general national defense posture of the United States, Dr. Rice recently said: "We don’t talk about exit strategies. We think about success strategies.” That’s indicative of the kind of Secretary she’s going to be, and the kind of policies the United States is going to make. Condi’s proving to be the leader Secretary Powell never was. That should make Americans proud—and make terrorists scared.
This current business with Iran and Syria is interesting because we know we aren’t going to go to war with either of them. That’s where Condi comes in. It’s easier to be a Secretary of State on war footing like Powell was, but it’s harder to be the sort of muscular diplomat Rice will have to be. Syria and Iran are safe from American bombers, but they should quiver at the thought of Condoleezza Rice.
If ever she actually visits one of those nations, we can only hope that she’ll wear her leather boots.
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