There are 2 books that are must-reads: Condi by Antonia Felix (biography that includes why she supports the 2nd amendment and what her family did during the Civil Rights movement.
Twice as Good by Marcus Mabry- This is more critical of her, but she explains her social views. her family and friends are interviewed for the book.

The AFDR and Think Condi blogs are both down, but you can read about her from my blog: I haven’t blogged for a long time.

Here is a good article from George Will on Condi’s gun views: She also won an award from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

I messed up my hyperlinks in my last message. Can you fix them? Should I just re-post?

Lothar: Could you provide some handy links for more on her social views?

In late May 2005 she did an interview with Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” talking about running for president . She also mentioned her abortion views.

The AFDR and Think Condi blogs are both down, but you can read about her from my blog: I haven’t blogged for a long time.

Here is a good article from George Will on Condi’s gun views: She also won an award from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Agreed. But I’m not saying they should do so with the “same-old-same-old.” Quite the contrary, even. I am saying, however, that if you want to start producing results now you’ve got to work with the material you’ve got now, not what you hope to have tomorrow.

And that ‘material’ has to be the best of what’s available now.

The problem that I see is how to make that sustainable. Can we just, Frankenstein-style, slice off the D.C. wing, and substitute new leadership, or do we need to go through a purge?

If a purge, then .. we may be looking at a situation where there’s competing Republican parties for a while… and that’ll lead to pretty massive Dem victories if it falls to in-fighting.

Mew

Yep. I’m not talking to the choir here, Michael, or ABOUT the choir, but most Independants and folks who are fed up with both parties would react much stronger to a candidate that has little or no baggage. And I believe most of these folks would view inexperience as a plus, not a minus. Myself? I’d vote for Condi in a heartbeat. If mainstream Republicans think they can turn this around with the ‘same-old-same-old,’ they are delusional, and setting themselves up for another defeat.

Seen any Whigs around recently?

Mew

I understand your point but how do you think they can make such a “clean break”? What constitutes a “clean break”? Rice isn’t a clean break, no matter what her views are, no matter how reasonable, intelligent, anti-corruption she may be (etc.), because she served in a previous administration? Don’t most (prominent) Republicans have similar problems, then? They’ve been associated with Bush as well. They can’t restore confidence then either.

And the ones who will succeed them eventually – who are now still relatively young and unexperienced – will be helped along the road by these old-timers – which makes the ‘young ones’ untrustworthy as well, if you demand a clean break at least.

No?

A debate between Hillary! and Ms. Rice would be like shooting fish in a barrel for Condi, but a debate between her and The One? Without his teleprompter? I’ll bet that would get viewership that would rival “American Idol”. How’ll the left go about trashing Condi Rice? Call her a “racist”? An “Uncle Tom”? They’ll be sputtering as much as Obama would in such a debate.

That is definitely true.

Sorry, Michael, but I feel this has already happened. The only way for Republicans to gain ground with voters who feel that both parties are corrupt and power-grubbing is to make a clean break with the past. Unfortunately, that means Condi’s association with Bush would be a severe liability. I think she knows this.

Personally, I would have loved to have seen her run last election – she certainly would have done better than McCain, and probably would have given BO fits. He’s an empty suit; she’s all brains and ballz.

Lothar: Could you provide some handy links for more on her social views?

With the current descent into race-baiting by the left, the next black president will be a Republican. The Dems have pissed in the pool and tainted any future black candidate from their party, no matter how “centrist” or “moderate”.

“See I Told You So!!!”

I was part of the “Draft Condi” movement. When we weren’t being interviewed by national media and appearing at regional and state GOP conventions, we were being pelted by Romneyites and Paulians saying “She’s pro-choice”, “She has no experience”, “She believes 9/11 was caused by Al-Qaeda”.

Just for future refernece, if needed, I can assure you Cxondi wants abortion restrictions. She said this on “Meet the Press” back in ’05. She also believes in parental notification and that abortion shouldn’t be funded by the Fed. She has written that as medical technology advances, she has become more pro-life (since we now know so much about a baby’s genes so early in pregnancy.)

There, I feel better now.

Yes, but I think it would be unwise to focus too much on Rice. It’s not about Rice herself as such – it’s about the kind of politician, the kind of Republican she represents. In other words, it’s best to have her become one of the faces of the Republican Party, but others like her have to be synonymous with the GOP as well. A team of Rices, in other words, is what the GOP needs.

As far as I can tell, at least.

That being said, I must say that I have been most impressed with Condi Rice, especially when she took on that student who attacked her over the GWB policies. Condi showed that she is indeed a very strong woman. I believe that she would make an excellent President. She has the presence, she is articulate and she is incredibly smart and intelligent…. I cannot say the same thing about the incumbent in the White House.

When I compare the job that Rice did as SOS and in extremely difficult circumstances to that of Hillary Clinton, I can see one helluva big difference. Rice was very professional, Hillary has been an inept joke. Rice did not lose her cool in the face of the criticism that she received at the hands of the Muslim militants in Lebanon and elsewhere. She accepted the slights with dignity…. something that is not discernible with Clinton.

Yes, we all need to see more of Rice so that she becomes the face that is the real alternative to what is already a very corrupt administration….