Dick Morris has his professional eye on women, as opposed to his usual practice of having his eye on professional women.
Somehow I’d missed that this was coming. The Observer is carrying an extract from Condi vs Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race, coauthored by Morris, with Eileen McGann.
If the thought of another Clinton presidency excites you, then the future indeed looks bright. Because, as of this moment, there is no doubt that Hillary Clinton is on a virtually uncontested trajectory to win the Democratic nomination and, very likely, the 2008 election. She has no serious opposition in her party. The order of presidential succession from 1992 through 2008, in other words, may well become Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton.
But her victory is not inevitable. There is one, and only one, figure in America who can stop Hillary Clinton: Secretary of State Condoleezza ‘Condi’ Rice. Among all of the possible Republican candidates for President, Condi alone could win the nomination, defeat Hillary and derail a third Clinton administration.
I’d like to think that the U.S. is ready to consider a woman for President. On the other hand, neither of these two is particularly interesting to me, although I’d take Hillary over Condi, were this to be our choice.
October 15th, 2005 at 11:11 pm
This strikes me as nonsense. There is simply no way the republican base are going to go for a black woman president. I would bet my left nostril on that.
October 16th, 2005 at 12:17 am
It is Jeb vs. Al, as they are both monosyllabic already they have an undeniable advantage. Maybe I should write a book.
October 16th, 2005 at 12:19 am
Greg, exactly. I think there is no way the Republican Southern base would vote for Condi. Enlightenment may hit them at some point, but it’s not there yet. At the same time, too many people dislike Hillary, simpy because they can’t deal with a strong woman. If this were the match, I imagine a strong 3rd party candidate could do well.
October 16th, 2005 at 12:23 am
Maybe the Union of Concerned Scientists should be preparing a candidate?!…
-cvj
October 16th, 2005 at 9:52 am
… except there’s no reason to think that a Republican president would really be in charge; (s)he could be something of a puppet. I think the Republican party can do a good job of marketing someone out there for an official role while someone else is really in control. (Look how well they marketed W. Even as a large segment of the population can’t stand him, a large segment loves him.)
So if they wanted to, they could put Condi out and tout their “progressiveness” by having a black woman candidate, while still having Cheney-like entities at the controls. Did you notice how Rush Limbaugh and conservative jackasses on the radio loved her?
Hilary Clinton vs. Condi Rice is a very scary choice.
October 16th, 2005 at 10:21 am
It would be well worth it simply for the pleasure of hearing Donna Brazille et al somemnly explain night after night why Condi is neither black nor a woman!
October 16th, 2005 at 11:39 am
A year ago I would have said that I didn’t think Hillary Clinton had presidential ambitions; these days it’s pretty clear that she does. Still, most of the “Hillary in 2008″ talk seems to be coming from Republicans, and I think it’s mainly because they think she would be a good candidate to run against. I don’t know if she has any real chance of getting the nomination, for the same reasons that Ted Kennedy never did: she has very high name recognition, and she’s a larger-than-life figure, but too many people hate her.
October 16th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
Whether or not Senator Clinton runs, the fact is, she can’t win yet. Too many people who would vote against her, for reasons ranging from being a woman to being a Democrat to being a carpetbagger. Maybe in a couple of decades…
Rice? C’mon, I come hear for science commentary. If I want humor, I’ll go to the Onion.
October 16th, 2005 at 10:30 pm
They’re over-exaggerating if they think Hillary Clinton is on a “virtually uncontested trajectory to win the Democratic nomination.”
October 16th, 2005 at 10:49 pm
The democrats have lost the last two elections by nominating the most qualified but least personally warm candidate. If they are stupid enough to nominate Hillary they will keep that string in tact. As qualified or as good a president as she may be I simply do not think she is electable because she does not come across as a warm person.
Condolezza won’t run. She’s headed back to a cushy job with big energy after the Bush era.
The question is who will run from each side? Male or Female. I think the only name you can probably count on is John Kerry right now.
October 23rd, 2005 at 1:30 pm
Condi really doesn’t want to be president. But I think that she’ll run if she can be convinced that it is her moral duty to do so.
The race thing is a non-issue, except for fringe kooks in both parties. Bush has had more high ranking Blacks in his administration than any in American history. Yet I’ve not heard any Republican complaints about that.
The more I learn about Hillary, however, the scarier she seems. She is not Bill.
October 23rd, 2005 at 7:07 pm
[...] Like Mark, I’m not a big fan of either Condoleezza Rice or Hillary Clinton as a presidential prospect, and I think it’s likely that both may be too tainted by the lies of the respective administrations they are associated with (just you wait, Condi). But this graph (via the polling report) is pretty amazing. I’m guessing that this must be the first time in American history that a woman has been in the lead for the presidential primaries of both major parties. Must be Geena Davis’s fault. [...]
December 10th, 2005 at 3:32 pm
If Rice does run, she would be PERFECT for the job, altough at this time i doubt she’ll run, she would by far be one of our better presidents. She is already the 3rd highest person in our government, AND she wold get the minority vote just because she isn’t white.
Hilary…that is a joke, she would fail miserably just because she is extremely socialistic…she needs to learn that fair isnt always equal, she is against the very thing this nation is based on, capitalism. she wants the take from the rich give to the poor, but if the poor would do something to better themselves instead of waiting for the government to do it for them, then we wouldn’t have to have people like Hilary getting voted for office.
December 10th, 2005 at 7:02 pm
Lyns, given the huge numbers of poor people in the US, a more socialistic policy is needed.
December 14th, 2005 at 1:50 am
What is needed in the US a real uniter. There are plenty of difference about the parties and about the American people, but as long as politics plays by Rove’s view of winning at all costs, solidifying the base identity and demanding that issues are dealt with in simple black and white terms, all of us will suffer.
We concerns me is that it seems not only does a candidate have to be protestant christian, but they HAVE to wear it on their sleaves just to look average!
We need a leader that will respect all social groups in america, and be charismatic enough to overcome the limits of group identity that plague both sides (but the social conservative are far more affected) to demand we dwell on the best of ourselves.
Not just with pretty rhetoric, but real leadership for the US and for the world. Without a vision of progressive policy, fiscal responsibility and
The next great leader will stop PR battles like teh debacle of the war on drugs or the rotting public education system, and actually build REAL SOLUTIONS.