Britain’s crush on Condi

The British press can’t get enough of Condi Rice. Her outing to the north-west of England was treated with the kind of excitement normally reserved for a visit by a head of state. On Saturday morning, photographs of Rice appeared on the front of the 3 big quality dailies and inside articles discussed everything from ...

609007_strawcondi5.jpg
609007_strawcondi5.jpg



The British press can’t get enough of Condi Rice. Her outing to the north-west of England was treated with the kind of excitement normally reserved for a visit by a head of state. On Saturday morning, photographs of Rice appeared on the front of the 3 big quality dailies and inside articles discussed everything from her hair to her future presidential prospects.

It is hard to imagine Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, or even Colin Powell back in the day generating this kind of coverage. So, why is the British press so obsessed with her?I think in part it is because to them, Rice seems so incongruous in this administration. Here’s a talented, intelligent, sophisticated minority woman who is best friends with – and clearly admires — someone many in the London media think of as either a knave or a fool. She also has an amazing life story. To go from the segregated South with a friend being murdered in a Church bombing to be, arguably, the most powerful black woman in history is the kind of thing that movies are made of, and makes for great copy.

Finally, there is the fact that Condi has star power. No one in British politics today exudes the grace and elegance that Rice does. It is noticeable how nearly every piece on Rice this weekend mentioned what she was wearing, her hair, and her effect on nearby males. Indeed, Fleet Street had great fun suggesting that Jack Straw has a bit of a crush on Condi. The Times even called in a body language expert to study photos of the two of them: “The fact that Jack Straw is actively touching her is highly unusual; politicians tend to keep a suitable distance.” For the latest twist in this tale see this breathless story about Condi letting Jack Straw sleep in her bed during the flight to Baghdad. One can’t help but suspect that these journalists are projecting. 

James Forsyth is assistant editor at Foreign Policy.

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