ENIGMATIC IF YOU IGNORE HER FAITH:

Iron will: Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power By Marcus Mabry (Steven Martinovich, August 27, 2007, Enter Stage Right)

Mabry’s research was thorough but throughout the book the reader can be forgiven if they believe that he failed to understand his subject. Given the subject, he probably can’t be faulted. Rice comes across largely as a vulnerability free person, someone who is so strong and focused that even a major setback is dealt with in a disconnected manner, someone so optimistic that failure is merely a chance to succeed at something else.

One incident in Rice’s life is telling in this regard. Rice, who learned to read music before she could read words, had been groomed from an early age to become a concert pianist and countless hours were invested in becoming a flawless player. At 17, however, Rice abruptly stopped playing the piano after a teacher determines that while her playing was “technically competent”, she wasn’t emotionally involved in the music the way the truly great pianists are. Faced with this hurdle, something that could have emotionally crippled another person, Rice simply decides to direct her energy into other avenues.

Given current events, it is likely Rice’s recent history that will be of most interest to readers and here Mabry does a better job of exploring the secretary of state. Mabry believes that Rice and George W. Bush are too close to allow her to play the role of doubting Thomas, and that adopting the Bush administration like a second insular family allowed her to ignore the dissenting voices over the Iraq war.

One peculiarity of the book is that Mr. Mabry frets over three aspects of the Secretary's life that particularly bother the Left: her sexuality; her "blackness"; and her Idealism. The conclusions he arrives at on all three points ought to dispel the notion that she's a crypto-liberal or a mere political climber. It is her views that make her a Republican.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 27, 2007 6:50 AM