Condoleezza Rice has come a long way from segregated Birmingham, Alabama. She has been serving as National Security Advisor in the last four years, and is expected to serve as the 66th U.S. Secretary of State during Bush’s second term.

In her confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations committee today, Rice opened with a statement outlining the challenges she’ll face if confirmed as the nation’s 66th Secretary of State.

Everyone agrees that now is a good time for diplomacy. Some argue that Condoleezza Rice, as the deepest of White House insiders, bears some responsibility for policies that pushed the U.S. out of world favor and into a grinding war in Iraq, with no end in sight.

Hear about Condoleezza Rice — the impact and world view of the new Secretary of State in waiting.

Guests:

Paul Richter, Foreign Policy correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.;
William Dobson, Managing Editor, Foreign Policy.;
Greg Thielmann, former director of the Office of Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research;
Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.