Elisabeth Bumiller is a reporter for The New York Times Washington bureau. She was a Times White House correspondent from Sept. 10, 2001, to 2006. Bumiller and her family live in the Washington area.
The book’s subtitle is “An American Life.” How is Secretary Rice’s life story particularly American?
It’s a story that would only have happened in America. As a young girl, she grew up under segregation in the South, [she was] not allowed to use the same water fountains or bathrooms as white people. She rose over the course of 50 years to become secretary of state …. Whether or not you agree with her politics or the decisions of this administration, it’s an amazing story. And that’s what I was interested in.
How has her role changed over the course of the George W. Bush administration?
Her major transformation … has been from a weak national security advisor to a more self-confident and activist secretary of state.
That’s because the world changed … and she saw that the Bush administration had to reach out to Europe and mend fights.
Her job is now diplomacy, not making war … and a lot of people who had power are gone, or their power is diminished.
What binds Secretary Rice and the president?
She’s like a family member; the bond is very deep. People talk about how different they are; I think they’re alike. [Like President Bush] she has been underestimated her entire life. … [The current] President Bush had never met anyone like her. …she could talk foreign policy and sports in the same sentence. She saw how much he needed her, far more than his father, to explain foreign policy. …
What qualities do you find compelling about her?
In public she often has this starchy, schoolteacher demeanor. In private, she is much more relaxed [and spontaneous]. … One of the first things you notice is her drive and ambition.
She is the only child of middle-class black Americans, who made her their life’s project. … They trained her well, and she’s carried that forward into adult life.
Where do you think Secretary Rice will be in 2010?
She says she’s going back to California, where she was provost at Stanford, and I take her at her word. Possibly she’ll [run for] governor of California, or write a book and give speeches [as do many high-level government officials].
