CONDOLEEZA RICE AS SECRETARY OF STATE

By Tikum Mbah Azonga This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) on the 7.30 prime time national radio news programme of the 19th of November 2004. This paper was one of hundreds of political chronicles I delivered on the news programme from 2002 to 2005. ___________________________________________ Although when Colin Luther Powell’s resignation was made known on Monday, one of those informally mentioned as a likely successor was Condoleezza Rice, whom President George Walker Bush had appointed National Security Advisor only in January, her ultimate choice as the new secretary of state, a post which is widely believed to be the most influential in the American government, still surprised many. Obviously, the first thing that would strike anyone about Condoleezza rice is her exquisite beauty and her irresistible charm. But beyond that, there is a lot to Condoleezza Rice than meets the eye. She is the first black woman to hold that prestigious post in the history of the United States of America. With Condoleezza Rice so honored, the Black vote, is likely to go to whichever Republican candidate will succeed Bush at the next Presidential election. The question however is, since Rice is a Black woman, will she now give Africa pride of place in her execution of American foreign policy? By appointing Condoleezza Rice, George Walker Bush has gone to lengths never before attained by any American President. By so doing, he has stolen the thunder of the Democratic Party, the American party most associated with the championship of the ethnic Minorities. Even so, President Bush’s choice of Condoleezza Rice is not only based on her nice looks. Far from it, Bush appears to have done so out of conviction, for instance, he has stated that Rice’s foreign policy experience and struggle against racism uniquely qualify her to be what he termed “America’s face to the World”. As a person, Rice has an outstanding pedigree. Born on November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s from Notre Dame University and a PhD from the University of Denver. She has also been awarded honorary degrees from a number of universities. In her professional life, she once was chief budget and academic officer of a university where she managed an annual budget of 1.5 dollars. Dr Condoleezza Rice has won two of the highest teaching awards: the 1984 Walter J. Gores Award and the Sciences Dean’s Award, both for her excellent teaching qualities. She is a professor of political science and has been Board Member of Several Corporations and Foundations. Significantly, Rice turned 50 only five days ago, a factor which indicates that she was born under the astrological sign of Scorpio and is therefore highly compatible with President George Walker Bush who is a Cancer. Both signs, along with Pisces, make up the three signs ruled by the natural element, water. Consequently, they have a lot of mutual regard for each other. The three signs understand each other so well that astrologers say that the union linking them together was not only made in God’s house, but actually ordained in his bedroom. It will be interesting to see how far this “ideal couple” will go in the running of America’s national and foreign issues.