A couple of years ago I read a great article in The New Yorker about Rice. It talked about her having taken piano lessons as a young girl. She was always being invited to perform at parties and was the delight of her friends and family. But as she got older and the invitations to perform dried up she asked her mother if she could quit taking piano lessons. Her mother's response was, "You aren't good enough to quit yet".

She said that her mother's insistance that she see things through to the end has served her well throughout her life.

You have to respect that kind of ethic.

~treppenwitz~
 

David: Yup. She really embodies the American dream: humble origins, great achievement through nothing more than tons of intelligence and hard work. She also sees the world through a moral prism, which State desperately needs, not more of the even-handed diplomacy of Powell. I predict she will make enemies and end careers in her new position, and the Dept. of State and our nation will be better for it.
 

What's the biggest obstacle to a Rice presidential bid? Pundits, I bet, would say race. I say it's the fact she ain't married. We gotta get this woman hitched, quick!
 

Ralphie: I totally agree. Liberals would accuse me of being naive about the racism in the red states, and to be honest, I haven't spent any time there, so have no personal clue, but I can't imagine the center of the country not embracing her. Except she needs a husband.