Accomplished and Determined, Susan Rice at Center of Political Storm
Accomplished and Determined, Susan Rice at Center of Political Storm
At one time, Susan Rice seemed to be on a trajectory that would take her to the secretary of state’s office in President Barack Obama’s second term.
But the confusing timeline that she and the Obama administration have offered around the deadly September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, might have altered that political course, begun years ago with the help of a powerful family friend.
Madeleine Albright, while serving as secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, recommended that he tap Rice for a high-level State Department post on African affairs in the late 1990s.
Albright had previously served with Rice’s mother, Lois, on a school board in Washington and watched Rice grow up with her own daughters.
“If I were to characterize her, whether it’s playing basketball or anything else, she’s fearless,” Albright said about Rice in a Washington Post interview during her time as the top U.S. diplomat.