Condoleezza Rice
Politics are dirty. Everyone knows that. Recall last week’s gubernatorial debacle in California wherein Jerry Brown’s camp was caught live calling Meg Whitman a “whore.” (Listen here.) Classy.
And then there was the “hick” ad coming out of the West Virginia gubernatorial race. Double classy.
And, yes, sometimes getting to good policy decisions can even be dirty. Start tracking bills in Congress or, for real entertainment, go peruse any of Bob Woodward’s tell-all, tattle-tale books.
Given the nature of the political game, it’s surprising, atypical and refreshing all at once when you find those political types who are consistently willing to stay above the fray. (Note that I specifically chose to use the word “willing” in the last sentence. When it’s all said and done, every poltician or pundit in the limelight gets to choose whether she or he is going positive or defaulting to negative.)
I was reminded this past week that positive still happens in politics. Enter former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice. In case you hadn’t noticed, Dr. Rice has been out and about all over American radio and TV this past week launching her new book, Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family. (No, I am not going to offer a book review in this post, but you can read a review here. I would, however, encourage you to pick up a copy if you want a instant dose of inspiration.)
In her many appearances this past week, from Morning Joe to Jon Stewart to The View to The National Press Club, Dr. Rice was a class act. Despite attempts to snag her in interview after interview with questions that were ultimately set up to end in criticism of the current administration, she refused to stoop. Instead, when asked, for example, about the performance of her successor Secretary Clinton on The Today Show, Rice gave a sincere nod and took a moment to reminisce about her first meeting with Secretary Clinton some 12 years ago at Stanford when Chelsea was entering as a freshman.
In a more intimate discussion amongst friends at The Aspen Institute this past Friday, Dr. Rice was asked about the Oval Office meeting with President Obama, which she had just rushed in from. Now, this was the perfect opportunity for some good Washington gossip, and I can say that we were all sitting on the edge of our seats hoping for just a little sarcasm or criticism to counter all of the Bush bashing that has been so prevalent as of late.
No such luck. In true Condi fashion, she was completely deferential toward President Obama and the course of his administration’s work on the international arena to date. She spoke kindly and positively. She made you want to (almost) forget about the president’s harsh negativity toward the GOP in his recent stomps for 2010 congressional candidates. She made him likable. (Disclosure: This should not have come to a surpise to me – I’ve known Dr. Rice for 11 years now, first as a boss and now as a friend and mentor, and have still yet to hear a disbarraging comment come out of her mouth.)
At the end of the day, respectfullness and deference are winners. Call it good form or purely good manners. Either way, staying above the fray can actually make for good politics.
Sarah Lenti is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net’s The Savvy. E-mail her at sarah@nmpolitics.net.