Condi the Condoleezza Rice story

CondiCopyright © 2002, 2005 by Antonia FelixNew updated edition, originally published by Newmarket Press.Requests for information should be addressed to:Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataFelix, Antonia.Condi : the Condoleezza Rice story / Antonia Felixp. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN-10: 0-310-26968-7ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26868-71. Rice, Condoleezza, 1954â€" 2. National Security Council (U.S.)â€"Biography 3. Presidentsâ€"United Statesâ€"Staffâ€"Biography. I. Title.UA23.15 .F45 2002355'.033073'092â€"dc212002012206This edition printed on acid-free paper.The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resourceto you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply anendorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for thelife of this book.All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in anyform, without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to PermissionsDepartment, Newmarket Press, 18 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017.Printed in the United States of America.05 06 07 08 09 10 11 /?DCI / 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1ONECoaching the Candidate“The presidency is not just the President.Itâ€TMs a whole team of people whoare going to get things done.”â€"Condoleezza Rice, 1999TO everyone in her inner circle, she is known asCondi, a name that trips off the tongue more easilythan her full given name. Her mother, a pianist and organist,fashioned Condoleezza (kahn-dah-LEE-za) fromthe Italian term con dolcezza, which in a score of music instructsthe performer to play “with sweetness.” There isa tradition of Italian names on both sides of Condiâ€TMsfamilyâ€"Theresa, Angelena, Angela, Genoa, Altoâ€"andthe unusual spin that the Rices put on her name was fittingfor the distinctive individual she would become. Inraising Condoleezza, John and Angelena Rice followedthe direction inherent in her name, always heaping kindnessupon her in their zealous efforts to educate, inspire,and motivate her to excel. Condiâ€TMs rock-solid foundationof love and positive influence underlies every step shehas taken, including her entry into an office just downthe hall from the president of the United States.The president has always called her Condi, while herstaff members call her Dr. Rice. She appears to have escapedthe presidentâ€TMs penchant for nicknames, eventhough most of his associates as well as press people havebeen dubbed with one. Even heads of state are not immuneâ€"as his friendship with Russian President VladimirPutin warmed in early 2002, George W. dubbed him“Pootie-Poot.”Condoleezzaâ€TMs foray into the Bushesâ€TM inner circle waslaunched at a dinner at Stanford University in 1987, whena few remarks she made changed the course of her career.Along with other members of the political science faculty,she attended an event at which President Gerald R.Fordâ€TMs national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, made aspeech. During the dinner afterward, which was attendedby many of the top foreign policy minds in the country,Scowcroft found the conversation “dreary” until a youngpolitical science professor named Dr. Rice spoke up.“Here was this slip of a girl,” he recalled. “Boy, she heldher own. I said, â€~Thatâ€TMs someone Iâ€TMve got to get to know.â€TM”From her comments, Scowcroft realized that she possesseda profound understanding of Soviet ideology thatmatched his own brand of political realism. “She sawwhere we could cooperate and where not,” he recalled.Scowcroft was so bowled over by Rice that she immediatelycame to mind when he became national securityadvisor in the first Bush administration. Immediatelyafter the election in 1988, Scowcroft began selecting thestaff that would join him in the White House. “One of myfirst phone calls was to Condi Rice,” he said. Based onher scholarly expertise of the Soviet Union, he appointedher director of Soviet affairs at the National SecurityCouncil. Not only did she gain the respect of her col-leagues in this post, she quickly became a personal friendof both President and Barbara Bush.Just as his son would do a decade later, the elderGeorge Bush relied upon Condi to tutor him on Sovietmilitary and political history. During his term, in whichthe Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union dismantled, heforthrightly credited her for keeping him up to speed onthe subject, telling one head of state that she “tells meeverything I know about the Soviet Union.” After BushIâ€TMs term was over, Condi returned to her teaching job atStanford. She remained friendly with George and Barbara,and was often invited to their Houston home andtheir summerhouse in Kennebunkport, Maine.She met frequently with the former president as partof what Barbara called the “book group,” at times consistingof Condi, Scowcroft, and Bush, to help write a bookabout major global events that occurred during Bushâ€TMs administration.The work was begun during Bushâ€TMs firstyear out of office and included the input of many people.Condi made lengthy visits to Houston and Kennebunkportthroughout 1997 to help Bush with the book.The final product, A World Transformed, was publishedin 1998 and covers events that occurred from 1989to 1991, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapseof the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War, and theGulf War. In the introduction, Bush and Scowcroft state,“Some of the most dramatic and epochal events of thetwentieth century took place during the short period of1989 to 1991 . . . did we see what was coming when weentered office? No, we did not, nor could we haveplanned it. . . . Yet, in only three yearsâ€"historically only amomentâ€"the Cold War was over.” Bush credits Condifor contributing extensively to the book by helping theauthors scope out its content, refreshing their memoriesof particular details, and sharing research she had donefor Germany Unified and Europe Transformed, a book shecowrote with Philip Zelikow in 1995.During a visit with George and Barbara Bush inHouston in 1995, George asked Condi to make a call onhis son in Austin before going home. George W. was settlingin as the newly elected governorâ€"his first politicaloffice (in 1978, he had made an unsuccessful bid for astate congressional seat). Perhaps George Sr. felt thatCondi could be an asset to his son down the road shouldhis political aspirations grow beyond the state of Texas.Or maybe he wanted to introduce them because theyshare an obsession for sports and carry their steely selfdisciplineinto their workout routines, a trademark of theathletic and competitive Bush clan. Such a commonthread would be a strong foundation for friendship andcreate a context in which they could discuss politics andworld affairs. Whatever his reasons, George suggestedCondi meet the new governor, and she agreed.The governor and Condi hit it off immediately, bondinglike any two sports fanatics. George W. was still aco-owner of the Texas Rangers, and they chatted aboutbaseball as they looked over Georgeâ€TMs signed-baseballcollection, lovingly arranged in a set of glass display cases.Condi wowed George with stories about Willie Mays,who was a student in one of her motherâ€TMs classes at FairfieldIndustrial High School in Birminghamâ€"real-lifestories about Mays that probably only a handful of peoplehave ever heard. For a baseball fan, it just doesnâ€TMt get anybetter than that. “Governor Bush was very impressed,”Condi recalled.During that visit, George W. gained not only Condiâ€TMsfriendship but her respect as well. “Heâ€TMs really smartâ€"and heâ€TMs also disciplined, which I admire,” she said. Excerpted from Condi: The Condoleezza Rice Story by Antonia Felix All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.