Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
January 25, 2005 -- Page: S389

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I have listened to some of the debate on this nomination. It is unfortunate that we have lost focus about what we should be doing in the confirmation of the Secretary of State. I don't think rehashing potential mistakes some think may have been made in the war on terrorism, specifically in Iraq, is something that should be brought up as a reason to vote against Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State.

I, for one, will say mistakes have been made. I don't think war is ever perfect. You can't make an outline and say this is how a war is going to go and expect it to go in that exact way. However, I don't think anyone could have anticipated all that has happened or the kind of enemy that we face. An enemy that is willing to blow itself up to kill innocent people requires a different strategy and approach. We are making the adjustments.

One of the leaders who has kept a steady focus on the war on terrorism and our efforts in Iraq is the woman who is before us today. It is Condoleezza Rice who has kept the steady aim and helped our President see all of the minefields out there. This has strengthened our country, to stay the course in the war on terrorism. The stabilization of Iraq is a step forward to promoting peace worldwide.

Condoleezza Rice is absolutely the most qualified person to succeed a wonderful Secretary of State, Colin Powell. What do you want in a Secretary of State? What do you look for? What would foreign leaders look for in a Secretary of State?

No. 1: Somebody who has a deep understanding of foreign policy. Condoleezza Rice has had a 25-year career in foreign policy, an exemplary academic background, graduating with a Ph.D. in international studies with a Russian focus--concentration on Russian history and Russian relations--cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She has the absolute ability to do this job, unquestionably, and she has the experience. For 25 years she has served three Presidents, been a key adviser in the one of the most tumultuous times of our history, and after 9/11, brought our country together by focusing on an enemy that is a new kind of enemy. Condoleezza Rice has done that, and she has done a great job.

No. 2: In looking for a Secretary of State, you want someone who is known to our country and known to foreign leaders. She will not be a stranger, speaking for our President. She is known to foreign leaders because as national security advisor, she has dealt with foreign leaders throughout the world. She has strong working relationships with world leaders, foreign ministers, national security advisers, and our closest allies. These relationships have been developed for over a quarter of a century. They will be valuable assets to our country and to her.

Having been a Soviet affairs specialist, who worked during the Cold War, she helped guide our Nation's efforts to promote freedom and democracy throughout that part of the world in the emerging Soviet republics. She helped guide our Nation to promote freedom throughout the world, by stressing the virtues of democracy, defying those who suggested that communism was here to stay and Eastern Europe could not be liberated. With the unification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Reagan administration made history with Condoleezza Rice in a key position.

No 3: You want a Secretary of State to be a trusted adviser to the President. There is no doubt the President and Dr. Rice know each other well. The President trusts her. And when foreign leaders talk to Condoleezza Rice, they will know she is speaking for the President, through offers made and pronouncements stated. Being a trusted adviser to the President is very important.

And, No. 4: You need someone who can manage a very large and important department of our Government with offices strewn throughout the world and with ambassadors reporting affairs in those countries. It will be important to have someone who is a good manager. She has served as Provost of Stanford University during her 6 years there, managing a diverse population.

On a personal note, I wrote a book called ``American Heroines,'' and one of the interviewees I had was Condoleezza Rice. I was talking to contemporary women who have broken barriers, and I interviewed Condoleezza Rice. I asked her the question: What is the best preparation for the rough and tumble of your job? She said: Without a doubt, being provost of Stanford University, because I dealt with 1,400 very smart people who were basically independent contractors, and I had to learn when to persuade, when to inform, and when to demand.

If that isn't a recipe for Secretary of State, I don't know one: When to persuade, when to inform, and when to demand. Diplomats need to know when to do each of these and she has honed these skills during her time as National Security Adviser, and most certainly while managing the 1,400-member faculty at Stanford University.

She has become a person uniquely qualified for this position. I am so proud to support her. She is a woman who is unflappable and has comported herself with dignity through the most trying times, through trying hearings and trying questioning. She has dealt with the largest crisis that we have had in our country, surely in the last 25 years, 9/11, finding out who the enemy is, where that enemy was being trained, and trying to make sure that we had a strategy to combat it.

Condoleezza Rice will be a great Secretary of State. She will make her mark on this position as some of the best Secretaries of State in our history have done. She has the capability. She has the trusted ear of the President. She has the knowledge of foreign policy from 25 years of experience and relationships with heads of state and foreign ministers, friend and enemy alike, and will work well with them.

She is going to collaborate when collaboration is called for in our foreign policy but more importantly, she will protect America when it is necessary.

I am proud of this nomination. I am proud of the President for bringing her in as National Security Adviser, working with her, learning from her and teaching her at the same time. The relationship is perfect for the new challenge she will face.

She is up to this challenge. I have every faith in her. I hope our colleagues will look to the future, look to what she can do, and will not rehash things in the past for which she was not responsible. She deserves the opportunity to represent our country, and, more important, give the President of the United States the person he wants in this job. As we face a very difficult 4 years, he deserves to have the person he chose. I hope the vote will be overwhelming.

I yield the floor.