The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy.

• Author: Riggio, Louis V.
• Position: Book review

The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy. By Glenn Kessler (St. Martin's Press, First Edition, Sept. 2007, 88 pages, $25.95)

Perhaps most of American Diplomacy's readers will be familiar with author Glenn Kessler. A senior staff writer and diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post, his work is characterized by sound investigative reporting and great attention to detail. Regarding the George W. Bush White House, depending upon one's point-of-view, he may be characterized as anywhere from highly critical to well balanced.

The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy (hereafter The Confidante) is no exception. Just about everything is in it, supported by copious notes and an index. I found myself referring frequently to the former as I went through this fascinating read. The liner notes, too, are very worthwhile.

Throughout, the close, even family-like, relationship between Dr. Rice and President Bush appears to be the key to understanding the White House's foreign policy. The author asserts that even Vice President Cheney has been moved out of the foreign affairs loop since Dr. Rice became Secretary of State.

Stepping back a bit, although I'm a former Foreign Service Officer, I should disclose the following:

(a) I've met and seen but two Secretaries of State, Dean Rusk and George Schultz;

(b) I've visited the National Security Council (NSC) only once, a month or two before September 11, 2001, and didn't see Dr. Rice;

(c) I haven't read any of the other Condoleezza Rice books, not even Dick Morris' Condi vs. Hillary.

Having disposed of the above three items, let's get to the book.

Mr. Kessler covers Dr. Rice from her childhood in the segregated South to relatively recently. One wishes he would have been patient enough to wait for the current Blackwater brouhaha but, of course, that was unpredictable. Nevertheless, I would hope he includes coverage in editions sure to follow.

The depiction of Dr. Rice is one of driven individual intellectualism that has its ups and downs. Essentially, she began as an exponent of realpolitik that continued through her direction of the NSC. However, upon becoming Secretary of State, she switched to becoming a proponent of the more messianic view of the world characteristic of President George W. Bush. With relation to her move to State, the author states the following, rather early as it were, on page 3:

But her options and opportunities as secretary of...