Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race

Anyone who has been paying attention to the 2008 election will gaze in awe at Dick Morris's amazing prescience. Indeed, the race between Hilary Clinton and Condi Rice riveted America. And only a woman of Condi's intellectual depth and personal integrity could save us from Hilary Clinton and become America's first Black president.

"Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race" may be the most important book of political analysis I've come across in the past year. Both Dick Morris and his wife Eileen McGann are to be commended for an exhaustive, penetrating, examination of the careers of Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Rodham Clinton. And though their analysis of a potential Condoleeza Rice presidential race is at best speculative, they have eloquently stated why her candidacy ought to be pursued. They have also proposed a plausible scenario demonstrating how Condoleeza Rice could win an election with Hillary Rodham Clinton as her opponent. Morris and McGann have argued persuasively that the best American presidents have been those with little government experience, but who have possessed ample experience in administration and/or other forms of leadership. They have noted the pre-Presidential careers of presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Woodrow Wilson, observing that all of these presidents - regarded by many as among our best - had limited experience in government, especially at a national level. But I was especially impressed with their observations of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first presidential campaign, and noting that there could be a modern parallel with a Rice candidacy (In Eisenhower's case, he was "drafted" by people at a grassroots level, not party bosses; in Rice's case a similar draft could be done by committed citizens using the Internet to raise campaign money, imitating to a substantial degree, Howard Dean's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in late 2003 and 2004.). So why would Condoleeza Rice be an effective, possibly great, American president? Morris and McGann provide an impressive biography, noting how she has succeeded, often climbing above seemingly insurmountable odds, based on her intellect and dedication to hard work. They note how she has quickly made favorable impressions of herself to those more senior in authority, and been rewarded with opportunities to demonstate her talents in more challenging positions. For example, while serving on a presidential search committee for Stanford University, she made such a favorable impression with the successful candidate due to her superb intellect and organizational skills, that he offered her the position of Provost, without considering other, more senior, faculty on campus. She has also exhibited a substantial desire to grow emotionally in each of the positions she has held, without forsaking her core convictions acquired from her middle class childhood growing up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama. Such traits are why Morris and McGann believe that Rice could be one of our great presidents. In stark contrast to Condoleeza Rice, Hillary Rodham Clinton's resume is due primarily to being married to the charismatic William Jefferson Clinton. Morris and McGann offer a substantial examination of her brief Senate career, noting its mediocrity and

It seems like the last election is just over. And we are already handicapping the potential candidates for 2008. Dick Morris is a long time political guy, usually working behind the scenes to get his man elected. For twenty years he was on Bill Clinton's team and now works as an independent consultant. In this book he presents several points worth discussion regardless of his central theme that the race may well be 'Condi vs. Hillary.' In the American political system a candidate first has to win the nomination of his party. For the Democrats, this means appealing to a base of activists who are far left of the center. This includes people like the Howard Deans of the world. Mr. Morris correctly points out that Hillary's reputation with the base is excellent. At this point there is no one in sight that could prevent her getting the nomination. After getting the nomination, the Democratic candidate has to move to the center to convince the electorate in general to vote their way. Hillary has clearly been making moves to gain more appeal in the center. And she clearly has an excellent advisor in her husband who managed to pull this off twice. The situation with the Republicans is exactly the reverse. The base is farther to the right than the general voter. But you have to have this base on your side to get the nomination. This book can be broken down into several kind of independent sections. Most interesting to me is his analysis of the vote in 2004. The political parties build coalitions of groups on which to concentrate their political messages. Mr. Morris does an excellent job of looking at the groups that voted in 2004. His analysis of the percentages of African Americans, Latinos, women (black and white), and what it would take to get them to shift just a few percentage points from the 2004 percentages is excellent. I enjoyed his comments about Hillary and Condi specifically, but it's just too early to tell. Maybe his forecast will make more sense after the first few primaries. But there's one point he didn't mention. Americans tend to elect presidents who have been in previous leadership positions. Bush was a governor, a chief executive of a state. Gore and Kerry were senators, not the boss. Americans elect governors, generals, other leaders before they elect senators and secretaries of state. Oh well, it promises to be a fun political season to watch.

I just finished this book Condi vs Hilliary and found it very fascinating. I had thought of Condi as the next President some time ago and when I heard of this book I had to read it. Dick Morris and his wife Eileen McGann paint an interesting tale of what a presidential election would be like if these two women were primary candidates for President. They also give much background on each woman. This is when you realize how different each woman lived leading up to this stage of their life. I realize that Dick Morris has had his problems with the Clinton's before but I belive he is the only one who knows them best. He points out Hillary's good points, her steadfast determination to become the first woman President. He also points out her bad points, as her volitile personality that erupts if not kept under control. I enjoyed reading of Condi's education and development as she pursued her interest in foreign affairs. Part of this book dealt with how to start a grass root campaign for Condi as was done for Eisenhower before his election as President. He also states her negative points are that she has never been elected to office and has had no experience in domestic problems. After reading some other reviews here I am sure many of them had never read the book. They are just against it because Morris must hate Hilliary and wish her defeated. All I can say is read the book then decide.

Dick Morris absolutely loathes Hillary Clinton and makes a career out of bashing her whenever he can. But he is convinced she will win the Democratic nomination in 2008 and that she will be a formidable opponent. The only person he thinks can beat her is Condi Rice. I have been saying this for months. All over America, black leaders are wondering how in hell they are going to explain to their constituents that voting for a white woman from Wellesley will advance the cause of blacks more than voting for a black woman from Birmingham, Alabama. To their credit, many of these leaders will realize that this argument is untenable, a dog that just won't hunt. They will drop Hillary like a hot potato and throw their support behind Condi. Ironic. The Dems have spent the last 40 years cultivating the black vote. They now get 9 out of 10 black votes. If Condi runs, it could go 9 out of 10 the other way. Think that's an exaggeration? Think again. Recall the jubilation that took place in the "black street" when OJ, a real scoundrel, was acquitted of murder charges. Now imagine the jubilation that will break out in the black street when Condi, a national treasure, is elected the first black President of the United States. The following consideration will be weighed in the mind of every black voter standing in the voting booth on Election Day in 2008: "By my vote I can put the first African-American in the White House; am I going to pass up this opportunity and vote for Hillary instead???" And then, think about how women will vote. First off, Condi's views on abortion mirror precisely those of the majority of women in America today: she is pro-choice, but in favor of reasonable restrictions on abortion. Second, Condi is living, breathing proof that women can shatter the "glass ceiling" and reach the highest levels of executive power. Finally, as a professional educator who implemented major reforms in undergraduate education at Stanford, Condi will appeal to all the mothers for whom the quality of their children's education is a major concern. Many of Hillary's female supporters will start off vehemently opposed to Condi, but they will quickly realize how hollow their arguments against her sound. They will undergo a sudden conversion and defect to Condi in droves. And then, think about how the intellectual elite will vote. All we've been hearing for the last 8 years is how "dumb" Dubya is. Well, that argument won't work with Condi. PhD in international affairs; faculty member and provost of Stanford University; concert pianist playing recitals with Yo Yo Ma. This girl's got it goin' on! You want intellectual elite? Condi makes Dominique de Villepin look like a bumpkin from the French countryside. The last time we had a candidate with "intellectual credentials" like this was Woodrow Wilson. So, it's obvious that Condi can make significant inroads into traditionally Democratic voting blocs. And it's also obvious that she's got the support of libertarian, ne