Condi vs. Hillary
The Next Great Presidential Race, by Dick Morris


(Click for Amazon book review)

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

Dick Morris is one of the foremost political analysts in America today. He was considered instrumental in Pres. Bill Clinton's winning strategy of "triangulation" -- deciding how much was possible on his issues with the opposition party, then "triangulating" to that middle position and pushing it toward implementation. But Morris had a falling-out with the Clintons, and now he is one of Hillary's leading critics. This book reflects that.

Morris' idea that Condoleezza Rice would run for president was far-fetched when he proposed it, via this book, in 2005. Morris knew that -- the purpose of the book was to lay out the case for drafting her, since she has not expressed a strong interest in running. The penultimate chapter is entitled "Drafting Condi," and lays out a plan for a grassroots Internet-based movement to build a volunteer organization. That organization would persuade Rice to run AFTER the primaries, like Dwight Eisenhower was persuaded, one month before the Republican convention in 1952.

Morris' "Draft Condi" idea was far-fetched but plausible in 2005. By 2007, the idea had become impossible. There will not be a draft movement now, because Condi does not have the popular support that she had in 2005. The Iraq War has gone substantially downhill since 2005, both militarily and in terms of popular support -- so instead of Condi's big claim to fame, as Morris predicted, it became her primary reason NOT to run.

In any case, Morris' dream race was a wonderful dream. Morris assumes that Hillary will get the Democratic nomination -- and analyzes several of her opponents' foibles accordingly (he did not predict that Barack Obama would enter the race). He makes the case that Hillary is unbeatable -- except by Condi.

As with other books by Hillary's critics, this book acknowledges her strengths and points out her weaknesses -- we detail some of them in our excerpts. And also like other critical books, many of the criticisms seem to actually be in Hillary's favor, when viewed from the perspective of Hillary's potential supporters. We detail some of those too. For example, in the chapter entitled "Hillary's Senate Record," Morris lists dozens of bills that Hillary supported -- then says that even though they're each "good ideas," together they comprise a "wish list" spending spree. Then Morris criticizes Hillary for sponsoring only "symbolic" bills. Well, which is it? Either she's a big-spender for supporting too many bills, or a do-nothing senator for supporting only symbolic bills -- but she can't be both!

Overall, this book is one of the better criticisms of Hillary in the 2008 race. Unfortunately for Dick Morris, the title makes it a low-seller. It SHOULD be as popular as some of the other well-thought-out and well-researched anti-Hillary books!

P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, OnTheIssues.org worked with Dick Morris' political website during the 2004 presidential race.

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, Feb. 2007

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Condoleezza Rice: Mildly pro-choice, with many restrictions.     Hillary Clinton: Voted liberal line on partial birth & harm to fetus.

Civil Rights     John F. Kennedy: FactCheck: 1960 election 70%-30% for JFK among black voters.     Lyndon Johnson: FactCheck: Civil Rights Act led to 90% black vote for Dems.     Condoleezza Rice: Message of her candidacy: no ceiling for blacks.     Condoleezza Rice: Supports college affirmative action, as beneficiary herself.     Hillary Clinton: Argued with Bill Clinton about diluting affirmative action.     John F. Kennedy: 1960 election: Won African American vote 70%-30% over Nixon.     Lyndon Johnson: Rallied nation to pass civil rights bill as JFK legacy.     Richard Nixon: 1959: Tie-breaking vote to strengthen black Southern voting.

Crime     Rudy Giuliani: Insisted on enforcing minor offenses, & cleaned up crime.

Education     Condoleezza Rice: Experienced educator, as teacher and administrator.

Energy & Oil     Arnold Schwarzenegger: Pushing hydrogen as solution to terrorism AND global warming.

Free Trade     Hillary Clinton: Voted against CAFTA despite Bill Clinton’s pushing NAFTA.     Hillary Clinton: Defended outsourcing of US jobs to India.

Gun Control     Condoleezza Rice: Developed opposition to gun control due to KKK.

Health Care     Hillary Clinton: Fought for pediatric rule: new drugs tested for child safety.

Homeland Security     Condoleezza Rice: Pushed for globality of Global War on Terror.     Condoleezza Rice: To win global war on terror we must win the war of ideas.     George W. Bush: Has used Patriot Act to thwart several terrorist attacks.     Hillary Clinton: Consistently supported tough anti-terrorism measures.     Hillary Clinton: Hillary hugs hawkish line on terrorism.

Immigration     George W. Bush: Reversed GOP’s support fo English-only education.     Rudy Giuliani: NYC services for illegal aliens.

Principles & Values     Colin Powell: Op-Ed: easier to win presidency than to win GOP primary.     Condoleezza Rice: Only viable Republican who can beat Hillary.     Condoleezza Rice: Doing layoffs at Stanford: “I don’t do committees”.     George W. Bush: Outperformed by Kerry in debates & campaign lost ground.     Hillary Clinton: Op-Ed: positioning herself as voice of reason & centrism.     Hillary Clinton: Message of candidacy: hardworking experienced collaborator.     Hillary Clinton: Has one Jewish step-grandfather.     Hillary Clinton: Campaigning on strong coalition of women & minorities.     Howard Dean: Tapped Internet organizing below mainstream media radar.     Joe Biden: Knocked out of 1988 race due to plagiarizing a speech.     John Kerry: Ended 2004 campaign with $14M in campaign funds.     John McCain: Needs independents to win ‘08 primary; but GOP dislikes them.

Technology     John F. Kennedy: Established TV as central element of electoral process.

War & Peace     John Kerry: Veteran biography strategy failed with “Reporting for duty”.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Arnold Schwarzenegger Colin Powell Condoleezza Rice George W. Bush Hillary Clinton Howard Dean Joe Biden John F. Kennedy John Kerry John McCain Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon Rudy Giuliani