Garret

I never cared all that much for Dick Morris who was a former advisor to President Clinton for twenty years. Morris, who advised Clinton for 20 years, is best known for managing Bill Clinton's successful 1996 bid for re-election, but his tenure on that campaign was cut short just before the election when it was revealed he was involved in a scandal of juicy proportions. Morris resigned under pressure (though there are different and interesting stories as to the reason), following which he turned his focus to media commentary. Upon reflection, I suspect being pressured to resign for sexual escapades by, of all people, Bill Clinton could engender some legitimate bitterness. Anyway, he now writes a weekly column for the New York Post and appears regularly on the Fox News Channel. He is a harsh and non-relenting critic of the Clinton's and has written several books to that end. One is entitled, "Condi vs. Hillary : The Next Great Presidential Race" in which he makes the case for the election of Condoleezza Rice to the presidency. When I first noted this, I wrote it off as a case of payback.....but lately I have been surprising myself by having second thoughts on the viability of such a notion. I have also come to appreciate that Morris is as sharp as a new copper penny when it comes to political analysis and campaign strategy.....perhaps more so than James Carville, George Stephanopolous and/or Paul Begala.

Dr. Condoleezza Rice is the 66th and current United States Secretary of State and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush. She worked as an advisor in various capacities to the first Bush administration, eventually replacing Colin Powell on January 26, 2005 after his resignation. Philosophically, I view her as social conservative, but more importantly, as someone who does her duty to her country with dignity, mainstream values and the utmost professionalism. And I sense that I am not alone with this growing admiration for an extremely talented person.There is something special about her that goes beyond ambition, her unflappable and steely persistence, and strong presence. Some have suggested it is her will to master whatever she encounters. As just two examples, she mastered the piano as a young girl and, later, the complex field of Soviet military affairs.

Some criticize her for being a non politician; I say that's an advantage. Being National Security Advisor and Secretary Of State during a war and having been Chancellor of Stanford are good enough qualifications for me. In June 1999, she completed a six year tenure as Stanford University 's Provost, during which she was the institution's chief budget and academic officer. As Provost she was responsible for a $1.5 billion annual budget and the academic program involving 1,400 faculty members and 14,000 students. As professor of political science, she won two of the highest teaching honors -- the 1984 Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 1993 School of Humanities and Sciences Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching. Born in 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, she earned her bachelor's degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974; her master's from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. From the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981

So much for her qualifications as she now emerges as the single most important person in the Bush Administration, particularly since Dick Cheney has disappeared and Rumsfeld has become "irrelevant." The tenacious and hard working Rice continues to serve her country by trying to work a peace in the Mideast crisis. Some might criticize her for being blindly loyal and in lock step with international policies that have gone awry, but that comes with the territory in being a loyal member of a president's administration. What goes on between Rice and Bush and what advise she may be giving him and what disagreements they might have are kept behind closed doors....and that seems to me to be the way it should be. Of course, that she is more intelligent than her boss is manifest.

There is no question that she will be tested as never before in the coming weeks. These will be the toughest issues with which she will be confronted thus far. But if she should get through them with positive results and a measurable degree of success, the phrase "why not" might become more than just a subject for Dick Morris to harp on. Her star will rise rapidly.

Moreover, there is a growing feeling that Rudy Giuliani has far too much baggage to be a viable presidential candidate and Sen. John McCain seems to be placing himself out of the mainstream of GOP politics. As Lieberman now struggles, so would McCain. Giuliani's messy divorce and positions on abortion, gay marriage and gun control are likely to make him unpopular among social conservatives and there are a large number of conservatives who seem to totally dislike McCain. As for Allen, Frist, Pataki, Romney, etc, they offer little to cheer about. If the Democrats move to the center as Clinton did and triangulate, they will be tough to beat in the next election. In my view, Senator Hillary Clinton may well be their candidate due to her strength with the black, Hispanic and women vote, her disciplined and shrewd strategy of making few waves as she learned the Senate ropes, and her ability to garner strong financial backing. So, based on these suppositions, what can the Republicans do?

How about the notion of nominating United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and hiring Dick Morris as her campaign advisor. As he did with Clinton, allow Morris to devise a strategy of "triangulation," whereby Rice would appeal to a diverse group of voters by distancing herself from both the Democratic and Republican parties......or at least the more extreme segments of each. This strategic move to the center of the political spectrum might disappoint some who want Rice to pursue a far more conservative policy but it would check (and perhaps checkmate) Hillary. If the Democrats play checkers, the Republicans should play chess....but that can work in reverse as well.

Certainly Dr. Rice carries with her the considerable baggage of the Bush Administration, most notably Iraq and a flawed policy of promoting democracy worldwide as a "cure" for terrorism and a "replacement" for theocracies, but who else knows the working of the Oval Office better? Who else is better qualified to beat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, should she be the candidate?

I say Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may be the one. With success in the Mideast and the right political strategy, why not?

"Don't be Afraid To See What You See." Ronald Reagan

He writes a bi-weekly column for a local newspaper and is a regular contributor to the NH Business Review. He specializes in columns, articles, essays, op-eds, and short stories. Many of his works are widely published.

His works focus on issues and themes dealing with socio-political topics, business and economics (in which he advocates a free market approach to capitalism), patriotism, and matters dealing with individual freedom.They are frequently inspirational in nature and sometimes reflect the Objectivist philosophy of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. Ted is also a boxing historian and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.