Provided my car is released from the Abu Ghraib of Saturn dealerships today, I'll be driving out to Scottsdale/Phoenix tomorrow.

My husband and I had a spirited discussion about my taking my 11-year-old SL2 out to the Valley of the Sun. I reminded him that it's really no farther to drive there vs. the San Francisco Bay Area, and that I know the route by heart (though he usually drives when we go out to visit his sister in Tempe; some kind of guy thing).

Attila the Hub wanted me to grab a rental car for the trip, but I'm unwilling to drive up the costs to that degree. After all, my mother's car is 14 years old, and still going strong. And my particular Saturn was made before GM started to let the brand slide. It's a good car, though battle-scarred from that unfortunate deer-in-the-freeway incident.

Our compromise: I'm supposed to leave at a decent hour tomorrow, and get to Phoenix by dusk, in case there's some kind of problem on the road.

I'll be covering the NFRA convention in general, and the Americans For Rice activities in particular; AFR is sponsoring the Goldwater Reception on Friday night, and will unveil its new media campaign over the coming weekend. (And please do go to their main page; it's updated frequently and contains all kinds of interesting buzz on the Draft Condi movement.)

So while I tie up about a million loose ends here in L.A. you won't read much here until I check in from Arizona Thursday night or Friday morning.

Posted by: Attila at 08:24 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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The Condistas are definitely on the march.

Crystal Deuker—whose last name got inexplicably garbled by the local press—got lead-story coverage as she spoke to a political women's group in Iowa, attempting to spread the message that it's time to draft Condi.

This is right on the heels of the Quad City Times' report that in poll of 400 Republican Iowas voters, Condi leads the pack by a considerable margin:

Rice received the backing of 30.3 percent. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona was second in the survey with 16 percent, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani received support from 15.3 percent. Roughly 20 percent were undecided.

Just to be fair to the guys, a second set of questions was asked that excluded Condi's name. Naturally, WaPo ran a story on that second poll, entirely ignoring the Rice lead in the main poll.

What is the Washington establishment afraid of?

Meanwhile, the latest poll in Florida puts Rice neck-and-neck with Mayor Giuliani (21% and 23% respectively), with Constitution-shredder McCain a distant third at 11%.

DISCLOSURE: Team Condi bought an ad from me (see it?—upper left). I got $45 for it, and I'll be spending several multiples of that going out to cover their activities in Scottsdale this Labor Day weekend (along with blogging the entire NFRA convention). Should I ever be in danger of breaking even due to my having contacts within (or sympathy for) a political group, I'll be sure to let you know. (This policy is very unlike that of your average consumer magazine.)

In the meantime, everyone in Team Condi appears to be spending their own money for gasoline, meals, lodging—just about everything in almost all cases. If you think Condi is the best person to carry on—and possibly fine-tune—G.W.'s efforts in the War on Terror, think about whether you have time or money to give. If you do, click the ad and get involved. Thanks. They are about to roll out their big media campaign, so right now would be a great time to slide them some filthy lucre.

Posted by: Attila at 11:18 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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An old article of Andrew Sullivan's from 2002 reminds us why Rice's presence in the White House has been extraordinary from the very beginning. It was written before Rice became Secretary of State, but while she was still the President's trouble-shooter and his most trusted advisor.

At that time, the speculation among Condi-watchers was that Cheney might resign, to be replaced by Rice—who would then become the logical GOP candidate in 2008. I think Cheney was considered a critical part of the inner circle, and not expendable in a time of war. But that doesn't mean the President is not grooming Rice as his successor.

I understand there are some issues to be dealt with: who plays the role of White House hostess if we elect a single—and female—President? And will the voters "forgive" the fact that Condi hasn't run for elected office before?

The nation is at war, and that is a time that customs get folded, spindled, and mutilated (exhibit 1: FDR's third and fourth terms). Condi will find a cousin or niece to assist her in some of the ceremonial duties, or she will hire a domestic version of the chief-of-staff to take over some of the hospitality functions, with the VP stepping in when the visiting dignitaries are important enough. And she will do plenty of gracious entertaining herself, when time permits.

These are solvable problems. Leaving the nation rudderless in a time of war is not.

For more, visit my favorite "Draft Condi" site, Americans for Rice.

Get on board.

Posted by: Attila at 01:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . contemplates the delights of a potential run by Condi.

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I might go out to the Phoenix area for the NFRA convention over Labor Day weekend to support Americans for Dr. Rice as they roll out their media campaign, and meet up with them. They'd like me to go to Tennessee the following week, which I'd love to, but it involves flying—so unless I have enough miles from my last cross-country trek, that one is unlikely for budget reasons. (Also, I suspect I'll be working a new day gig by then, and that amount of travel may just not be wise.)

Arizona, however, is easy as pie: I can drive it in fairly little time, and I know that road (in this case, the 10) like the back of my hand. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law will be out of town—so I can't stay with her—but I might be able to crash with one of the other people from the Draft Condi movement. Even my beloved Holiday Inns (with WiFi!) are far cheaper in Phoenix/Scottsdale than they are in a lot of metropolitan areas. And I know where the Latin grocery stores are in Phoenix, so I can eat on the cheap.

In other words, I might be able to swing this without too much more trauma to my travel budget.

If anyone else is interested in attending, let me know. Obviously, the NFRA is thick with SoCons, but I'd be there to support some of the important "watchdog" functions they perform within the GOP, and to make the case for grassroots work on behalf of Dr. Rice.

If any Phoenix-area bloggers want to meet for lunch or coffee, let me know.

Posted by: Attila at 05:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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