From the WSJ Opinion Archives
THE WESTERN FRONT
Woman of the Year
Instead of celebrating Condi Rice, Democrats nip at her ankles.
With 24 new women elected to the House and five to the Senate, 1992 was called the "year of the woman." But how much did Barbara Boxer, Patty Murray or Carol Moseley Braun really change the world? Now, though, a woman is on the rise who has already helped reshape geopolitics. Today Condoleezza Rice will face another round of hearings as she prepares to be confirmed as secretary of state--a position Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe used as a springboard into the presidency. If Ms. Rice were a Democrat, the media would have dubbed 2005 the "year of Condi."
Ms. Rice has already exerted tremendous influence on world affairs. As President Bush's national security adviser, she was instrumental in developing the administration's response to 9/11 into a policy that involved more than raiding terrorist camps throughout the world. Ms. Rice, who well understands the larger global political forces at work since the end of the Cold War, was one of a handful of powerbrokers who came to realize the best defense against terrorism was to spread freedom and democracy in the world.
There has been some public doubt whether Ms. Rice actually believes in the policies of this administration. But that has been much wishful thinking by administration critics. Before the Iraq war, she passionately made the case for removing Saddam Hussein. Minutes before one speech on the issue--at an event sponsored by the Manhattan Institute--I had the opportunity to talk with her one on one about Iraq. What I quickly realized was that the policy of peace through liberty was something she cared personally about. Now, as she has been tapped to head the State Department and after President Bush dedicated his second inaugural address to the idea that America's best defense is promoting human liberty, there should be little doubt as to the central role Ms. Rice has played and will continue to play in shaping American foreign policy and the global political landscape.
Ms. Rice has been loyal to Mr. Bush, but she is an intellectual power in her own right. She has the president's ear and has been deeply immersed in the movement to halt the spread of tyranny by waging a war of ideas since long before Ronald Reagan consigned the Soviet Union to the ash heap of history. This is the year Ms. Rice steps onto the public stage; a year her influence and her intellect is no longer confined to the quiet rooms of power. Her rise deserves to be celebrated.
That it isn't--and that Senate Democrats instead are delaying her confirmation--says more about the Bush administration's opponents than it does about her. Every day she must face those who would rather that someone like her--with her intelligence, political savvy and personal appeal (and anyone who has met her knows, she has a warm, personal touch)--hadn't come along at all. So they ignore her, deny her influence or send out a legion of ankle biters who recycle the same complaints that won John Kerry 251 electoral votes--mostly that the administration she serves promotes torture or that she is too much of a hardliner to sooth relations with other nations.
These criticisms ring hollow, of course. The Abu Ghraib prosecutions dispel the accusations of systematic torture. As for soothing relations, either foreign leaders see their interests in line with the U.S. or the divisions will persist. France and Germany aren't childishly sulking about some perceived personal rebuke; they genuinely disagree with American policies. Only by subverting American foreign policy could anyone engender the kind of international "cooperation" John Kerry and the Democratic establishment so desperately seek.
Ms. Rice has persisted in the face of her critics. It is no wonder then, that some on the right speculate that she will one day seek elective office--governor or senator in California, or maybe even the presidency. It is a plausible idea. A high profile and good character translate into political power, and she has enough of both to be a political player. Of course, before doing so she'd have to flesh out her views on a wide range of domestic subjects. It's also one of the reasons Democrats would like to tarnish her now, before she becomes a formidable candidate.
It is a fair bet, though, that Ms. Rice isn't now playing for a new job four years out. Serving ably as secretary of state is of paramount importance. Judging by her remarks before the Senate so far, this is something Ms. Rice clearly understands. Which is why we should be celebrating this as the year of Condi Rice.
Mr. Miniter is assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. His column appears Tuesdays.
