Rice Squad

Condoleezza Rice fans try to draft her for president

Published October 26, 2005 8:00PM (EDT)

There's just so much to say about yesterday's New Republic article "Condi For President" by Michelle Cottle, I don't know where to begin! Oh, yes I do. With the piece's brilliant sub-headline: "Cultivated Rice."

Cottle's piece is about Americans for Dr. Rice, a group thats been paying big-bucks to run Draft Condi ads in New Hampshire during airings of ABCs "Commander in Chief." They really want Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice  the woman who shopped Ferragamo while New Orleans drowned!  to run for president in 2008. Thats right, hadnt you heard? Lady leaders are the latest fashion! Presidents with breasts are way hot for fall!

Seriously, in light of our remarkable 200-plus year history of having never run a woman as a major-party candidate for president, the fact that we need a television show to inspire what Cottle called "Is-America-ready-for-a-woman-president buzz" is extremely embarrassing. I mean: Buzz?

Cottle interviewed a number of people who are just crazy for Condi. They call themselves Condistas and have anti-Hillary Clinton slogans like Condi, not the Blondie! (Classy.) Cottle also turned up a tune by a group called Tan Sleeves entitled Condoleezza Will Lead Us. You dont have to ask Broadsheet twice: here it is with visuals. Its a must.

Perhaps the highlight of Cottle's story is Americans for Dr. Rice co-founder Crystal Dueker's pride at the reception her organization got at the very right-leaning 2005 National Federation of Republican Assemblies convention. They only raised $400, but Dueker said she was encouraged that conventioneers listened to the platform, and that she didnt "think anybody made a derogatory comment or racial comment. I was really pleased in that respect." Hey, Congrats!

Cottle also spoke to one Frank DiSalle who runs condipundit.com and said he hoped that some dubious Republicans might get used to the idea of a Rice run by thinking along these lines: "'Well, if I have to vote for a woman, Id really prefer it wasnt a liberal woman with a feminist agenda'.Now, theyll have Condoleezza Rice to vote for."

Yack. My thoughts exactly.


By Rebecca Traister

Rebecca Traister writes for Salon. She is the author of "Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women" (Free Press). Follow @rtraister on Twitter.

MORE FROM Rebecca Traister


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Broadsheet Hillary Rodham Clinton Love And Sex