Secretary of State Condi Rice

The New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller has written a long piece on the relationship between President Bush and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Why? This explanation is as good as another: Rice, who is a major source for the story, is thinking about spending a second Bush term in Foggy Bottom.

Rice says the right things and has little trouble abandoning her preferred political philosophy for Bush's pseudo-religious ruminations:

"[S]he says she has melded her realism ? the view that great powers act in their own self-interest ? with what she calls Mr. Bush's idealism, or what his critics say is his na?ve belief in a 'moral' American foreign policy that can spread democracy throughout the world… The president likes to focus "on this issue of universal values and freedom," and after Sept. 11, [Rice] said, "I found myself seeing the value of that."

With no ass to kiss, Bush explained why he liked Rice:

"She's fun to be with… I like lighthearted people, not people who take themselves so seriously." Besides, he said, "She's really smart!"