As far as RNC GOP speakers go, Condoleezza Rice is among the most popular.
Condoleeza Rice moved audiences last night during her speech at the Republican National Convention, speaking with clarity and emotion in the political territory she has said she usually likes to stay out of. Rice took a stand in her support of Mitt Romney and his presidential campaign, and heavily criticized President Obama’s past four years without even mentioning him by name. The former Secretary of State captured her audience Wednesday night with strong and personal convictions on topics such as the global and economic crisis, her pick for the upcoming election and a memory from her childhood in “Jim Crow Birmingham.”
Rice spoke on the necessity for the U.S. to reclaim its leadership within the American community and abroad, saying, “If we are not inspired to lead again, one of two things will happen; No one will lead and that will foster chaos, or others who do not share our values will fill the vacuum[…]We do not have a choice. We cannot be reluctant to lead—and one cannot lead from behind.” She went on to make it very clear that the Republican Party and Mitt Romney are the next step to reclaiming this position.
As a conclusion to her well-received speech, Condoleeza Rice moved into surprising territory, possibly hinting to the idea that she could be president.
“And on a personal note: A little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham—the most segregated big city in America, “she said. “Her parents can’t take her to a movie theater or a restaurant, but they make her believe that even though she can’t have a hamburger at the Woolworth’s lunch counter, she can be President of the United States. And she becomes Secretary of State.”
Whether or not Condoleeza Rice intends to run for president is unclear, but her popularity with the GOP, despite her past working with former president George W. Bush, and a speech that doubles as a step towards revamping the Condi image points to possibilities in the future.
U.S. Representative and nominee of the Republican Party for Vice President Paul Ryan also spoke Wednesday night, though his remarks were somewhat shadowed by the Condoleezza Rice speech, and Mitt Romney, Republican Party Presidential nominee, is set to speak Thursday night.
