Condi's trip South: "running for something"?

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: On Trip to South, Rice Uses an Atypical Topic: Herself
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: October 24, 2005


BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 23 - At the University of Alabama this weekend, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seemed taken aback when the chairwoman of the campus College Republicans asked for advice on how to prepare for a career in politics. With a chuckle, Ms. Rice turned to her guest, Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, for the answer.

"He's actually run for office," she said. "I haven't."

But all weekend long, Ms. Rice seemed to be running for something. It was not, her aides maintained, for office, though she was greeted like a superstar everywhere, with an explosion of cheers at the Alabama-Tennessee football game on Saturday when she entered the field of Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa with Mr. Straw for the ceremonial toss of the coin.

Ms. Rice insisted, on the contrary, that she was seeking to bring foreign policy issues to people outside Washington and, more important, to use the triumphant story of the civil rights movement to counsel patience and understanding for skeptics who believe that democracy cannot flourish in Iraq and the Middle East.

It was Ms. Rice's second trip to the region since Hurricane Katrina, when she and other members of the Bush administration came under criticism for the handling of the storm's aftermath. On this trip, Ms. Rice met with hurricane victims and volunteers in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. But much of the rest of her itinerary was of a more personal nature....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/politics/24rice.html

[chalky]

1. There might be a little "running FROM something" in that trip, too.

n/t

[MADem]

9. You got it in ONE! nt

[babylonsister]

2. Or running away from something? nt

[Champion Jack]

3. She'll step in

After Cheney resigns in disgrace and she'll be the repug frontrunner in '08.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. It's been my view that they would run Condi, also --

They can't control McCain, and I doubt they could control Giuliani. They could control Condi.

[BlueManDude]

5. go for it condi - you will crack the gop in two pieces.

[win_in_06]

7. What would the two factions be?

[AspenRose]

8. Those who adhere to the "southern strategy" (read: racism)

(which also includes portions of the rabid religious right)

and the paleoconservatives.

Edit: I don't know if anyone else notices this, but when Condi appears anywhere in public, especially in the south, it's with other white people. You seldom, if ever, see her around a group of black people or a mixed group. It's usually exclusively white. I think that is by design, to show the white conservative base that she "can be trusted" by southern conservative whites, as well as to reveal her lack of intent in courting the black vote or black interests, which also gives them comfort.

This is why, IMO, you won't see blacks coming out in droves supporting Condi.

[win_in_06]

10. I think you're reading way too much into that. She is usually the only

black in a crowd because she is a republican, plain and simple. Thre aren't many black republicans.

As far as teh southern whites, she seems to have been accepted ok in the heart of the south, Alabama. Maybe that was a test.

I think if anything hurts her in the repug primaries it will be her pro-choice stance.

I don't think racism will be an issue and I'm afraid many blacks will vote across party lines just to have a shot at having a black president.

If she makes it through the primaries (no small feat), she will be hard for us to beat.

[Supersedeas]

6. appearances appearances