Most Powerful Woman in America

            According to the encyclopedia.com article about Condoleezza Rice, she has been described as the most influential woman in global politics. According to Forbes Magazine, Condoleezza Rice is the most powerful woman in the world. I would argue that those are both statements that make Rice an admirable figurehead. If Rice were to run in the 2016 election it would be very beneficial for her to not only draw on those statements, but to use her past as a way to enhance her image. Rice would need to highlight all of the experience she has from working along side former Presidents, while not mentioning the negatives that come along with her involvement in that Presidency (supporting the war in Iraq). Everyone loves the idea of the American Dream, and overcoming obstacles to become successful, it would be crucial that Rice stressed how hard she had to work as an African American woman from a middle class family to get to where she is today. It would be important for her to make herself relatable, showing the people that she understands the struggles they face.

           

            Strengths that Rice has are the past experience she has in politics and foreign affairs, and her personal accomplishments. I believe that people, whether they liked the Bush administration or not, will see Rice’s contribution to that presidency as a positive thing. Yes, she was an advocate for going to war in the Middle East, and that is a negative thing now, but at the time that seemed like the best option. Condoleezza’s expertise in international affairs could not only benefit in ending that war, but also strengthening our nation’s relationship with other countries. Even if people think negatively about Rice’s involvement in the Iraq war, they will be impressed by Rice’s personal triumphs. Becoming the first black woman national security advisor, and the first black woman Secretary of State are amazing accomplishments that anyone can appreciate. Even though we currently have a black president and Condoleezza has made huge moves for African American women in politics, her raise and gender could be viewed as a weakness. It is unfortunate that in 2015 those types of things could be viewed as weaknesses in a candidate, but some people would.

            An opportunity that Rice could experience is the feminist movement. Feminism has become a very popular, and having a feminist woman run for president would be a very big deal. A threat that Rice could experience is the gay rights movement, because Rice does not support same sex marriage and that is a very big issue in today’s society.

            Issues I believe Rice would highlight if she were to run would be abortion, women’s rights, and international affairs. As a woman her view on abortion and women’s rights might carry more weight than a male counterpart. She has a lot of experience in international affairs, and it would be beneficial for her to emphasize that. I believe she should highlight those issues because foreign affairs is something our country has been struggling with and women’s rights has become a hot topic recently. I think it is especially interesting that, as a conservative Republican Rice is mildly pro-choice. A quote from Rice on Politico states that she does like government involvement in moral decisions, and although she does not understand why someone would be in favor of abortion, she does not understand taking that decision away from families. 

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Condoleezza_Rice.aspx
http://www.forbes.com/power-women/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78489.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/13/politics/rice-vp-pros-cons/

Who is Condoleeza Rice?

             Condoleezza Rice is a politician, golfer, sports fanatic, an educator, and arguably one of the most powerful women in the world. Condoleezza Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama on November 14, 1954 to two educators. Rice grew up in an extremely segregated environment, but her parents refused to let that stop their daughter from achieving greatness. Rice’s amazing accomplishments started at a young age, she began piano lessons when she was three years old and had her first recital when she was four. If that was not enough for a young girl she also took French, Spanish, and became a competitive figure skater. Rice was also an exceptional student, she completely skipped first grade and advanced from sixth to eighth grade. Rice graduate high school at the age of fifteen, while she was simultaneously finishing her first year of college at the University of Denver. Rice graduated from the University of Denver in 1974 and a year later she received her master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. In 1981, she received her Ph.D. form the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies, and joined Stanford University as a political science professor.  

                                                                                              

            Condoleezza Rice has made history more than once during her lifetime. Rice became the first woman and the first African-American to serve as provost of Stanford University in 1993. In 2001, Rice became the first black woman to hold the position of national security advisor.  In 2004, she became the first black woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State. In 2012 Rice (and Darla Moore) became the first women to become members of the Augusta National Golf Club.

            Rice has had quite the political career, in the mid- 1980’s she worked as an international affairs fellow attached to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She became the director of Soviet and East European affairs with the National Security Council, and special assistant to President George H.W. Bush in 1989. She served on the Federal Advisory Committee on Gender-Integrated Training in the Military in 1997. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Rice as the national security advisor. In 2004, she became the U.S. Secretary of State.

            Rice fits all of the basic requirements to run for president, she is over the age of thirty-five and is a U.S. Citizen. It is her political background and the amazing accomplishments that she has achieved that make her qualified for the position though. Rice is the epitome of the American dream. She has made history repeatedly, and I believe she could make history again by becoming the first woman president.

Below are the articles I used for the information on Condoleezza Rice.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ow-Sh/Rice-Condoleezza.html

http://www.biography.com/people/condoleezza-rice-9456857#in-recent-years