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Rice: The US is Ready for a Black President

Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State hinted that though she said she will not run for the US presidency, she hasn`t given up on the idea altogether. America is ready to elect a black president, when she was asked about Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. When asked about General Colin Luther Powell`s prospects of becoming president, Rice declined to say whether she would like to see her predecessor, Colin Powell, become a candidate.

Rice is the highest ranking African-American official in the United States. In the past she said that she will not run for president, despite her relatively high approval ratings, but in a recent interview to the news agency AP, Rice said she has yet to make a final decision. Rice was asked during the interview whiter she thought the American public would elect a black president, in connection to the possible candidacy of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who his said to be a possible candidate for the 2008 elections. Rice answered that the first successful black candidate will be ``judged by all the things that Americans ultimately end up making their decision on: Do I agree with this person? Do I share this person`s basic values? Am I comfortable that this person is going to make decisions when I`m not in the room that are very consequential?``

Though Rice seemed optimistic regarding the prospects of a black American President she chilled her optimism saying: ``we should not be naive. Race is still an issue in America. When a person walks into a room, race is evident. It`s something that I think is going to be with us for a very, very long time.``