The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

conduct diplomacy abroad. [Diplomats] need to be mobile and carry the skills and tools they need to carry out an outward-looking and outward-acting agenda.” Rice has staked her legacy on making transformational diplomacy a reality, both around the world and within State. But most of her energy seems to be going into pro- motion of democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan and other “front-line” states, not improvements in the working lives of Foreign Service officers. A Star is Born “Condi” is a genuine celebrity figure inWashington and elsewhere. Many State employees show admiration, even awe, during town hall meetings with her. More generally, rumors persist that she may run for the presidency as early as 2008. (She has carefully denied such ambitions, insist- ing she is focused on running State, but has not categori- cally ruled out seeking public office in the future, see Cybernotes, p. 10). But in Foggy Bottom, many remain skeptical of her role in formulating and implementing what they see as the Bush administration’s rigid, unnuanced approach to foreign policy, especially in Iraq. Citing concerns over her lack of attention to bread- and-butter management issues such as overseas pay and merit promotions, one Washington-based officer who is still an admirer of Colin Powell says, “It’s 180 degrees dif- ferent with Rice. All the ideas that Powell brought, she’s given lip service to, but she hasn’t followed through.” It is often true in Washington that the best managers don’t attract the spotlight. Rather, it tends to be the Cabinet secretaries with the most access to the president, and the most influence over policy-making, who are hailed as stars. That certainly seems to be the case with Rice. Last November, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius asserted that the new Secretary “has gone through a remarkable transformation since she took over the State Department,” and lavished considerable praise on her performance thus far. But he was careful to acknowledge that it is far too soon to come to a definitive verdict. Only in the coming months will we get a clearer picture of what the legacy will be for “the Bush adminis- tration’s second-term star,” he wrote. n F O C U S 28 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6