[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] I urge the Senate to promptly confirm Condoleezza Rice as America's 66th secretary of state.
[Announcer:] The president taps his one-time foreign policy tutor to join his cabinet. Is their close-working relationship an asset or a liability? Christian conservatives pray to higher powers on Capitol Hill. Can they convince Republicans to deny Arlen Specter a top Senate job? Welcome back Congress. We'll watch the political stars and the also-rans come out with an eye toward election 2008. Now, live from Washington,
[Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics. Candy Crowley, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you for joining us. Judy is off today. I'm Candy Crowley. The president wants to promote Condoleezza Rice to be, as he put it, "America's face to the world." But the mark she'd make at home inside the State Department and within the cabinet may be just as important to Mr. Bush. We begin our coverage of the new secretary of state nominee and other possible changes at the top with our White House correspondent Dana Bash Dana.
[Dana Bash, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Hi, Candy. Well, you know, Condoleezza Rice has known the Bush family since working for George Bush, the 41st president of the United States, in his National Security Council. But she hooked up with George W. Bush as a then Texas governor, somebody who did not know much about foreign policy. She was his tutor then. And, of course, she has been his national security adviser for the past four years and very close confidante, and some say even good friend. But also a very important guiding force in his foreign policy. And today, Mr. Bush said her experience, even her grace, makes her the right person to be his top diplomat. And he noted that that he that she has sound and steady judgment, in his words. Now, Rice would be the second woman, but the first black woman to serve as secretary of state if confirmed. And as Mr. Bush spoke, Dr. Rice was visibly teary, essentially looking a little upset as he talked about her family and talked about her background, particularly growing up in the segregated South and noting that that has given her experiences and given her a world view that has guided her foreign policy specifically as somebody who grew up without the same democratic rights as others, and talking about how that guides particularly the Bush foreign policy, her policy to try to find democracy in places like the Middle East. Now, the president calls her the unsticker, somebody who likes to and can get things done in his administration. But for all the praise, in some quarters there are questions about her management skills and style, about whether or not she really has the experience to be America's top diplomat, and whether or not her more hard-liner views will play well in a State Department that is used to a more moderate Collin Powell. That has been cause of concern at the State Department. That is something that Condoleezza Rice today tried today to quell.
[Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser:] In my 25 years of experience in foreign affairs, both in and out of government, I have come to know the men and women of the Department of State. I have the utmost admiration and respect for their skill, their professionalism and their dedication.
[Bash:] Now, in picking Dr. Rice, this follows a pattern that we have come to see in the second term Bush White House. That is, the president putting his most loyal and trusted aides in key cabinet positions. Of course Alberto Gonzales last week. His White House counsel was chosen for attorney general. Some Republicans even are questioning this strategy, saying that perhaps it's a bad idea because it's going to make the president too insulated, not enough healthy debate will go on. But certainly the president was thinking of elevating some of his loyalists when he picked also today Stephen Hadley, who was his deputy national security adviser, to fill the role that Condoleezza Rice is filling. Now, Condoleezza Rice, of course, will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Stephen Hadley will not Candy.
[Crowley:] So Dana, at first, I thought it was a silly question, and then I listened to some of the reservations about Condoleezza Rice. Her confirmation, is that likely? Is it in trouble? Is it engage it for me.
[Bash:] It's likely. Both Democrats and Republicans that I've talked to on Capitol Hill say it is almost certain to happen. But Democrats are saying that they're going to use the hearings to try to air and put out some of the questions that they tried to put out over the last four years about the president's foreign policy and her stewardship of that. Particularly, first and foremost, the president's Iraq policy, how Condoleezza rice was involved in vetting and articulating an Iraq policy using intelligence that later turned out not to be accurate, particularly talking about weapons of mass destruction, using that as a case for war. They are also likely to revisit questions about whether or not she, as the president's leader here at the White House on foreign policy, really looked into al Qaeda enough before 911. That is something of course we saw during the 911 Commission hearings. We might hear more about that.
[Crowley:] And tell me a little bit more about Stephen Hadley, her replacement.
[Bash:] Well, Stephen Hadley, as I mentioned, has been here for all four years. He, too, was on the president's campaign foreign policy team back in 2000. He is somebody who has been around Washington for quite some time, served presidents since President Ford. But he is also somebody who has had to perhaps take the public fall for some of the missteps. For example, the president using those now famous 16 words in his State of the Union Address two years ago, saying that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Africa. The White House later had to say that was shouldn't have been in there. And Stephen Hadley had to take the fall for that. But, Candy, talking to some aides around the NSC, they he seems to be revered inside the NSC. They talk about him as somebody they call "the dad," somebody who is a calming force and somebody who can multitask, which, as they point out, is something that is desperately needed in that job Candy.
[Crowley:] CNN's Dana Bash. Busy times at the White House. Thanks very much.
[Bash:] Thank you.
[Crowley:] We'll have much more ahead on Rice's nomination and the president's second term cabinet shovel shuffle. But right now we want to go to Capitol Hill, where Senator Arlen Specter is fighting to get the Senate Judiciary chairmanship. But some irked fellow Republicans may be standing in his way, along with anti-abortion conservatives waging a campaign today of prayer and protest. For that story, we want to go to our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry Ed.
[Ed Henry, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Good afternoon, Candy. It's been a day of high drama in the Senate. It's supposed to be a lame duck session with a lot of leftover business for this Congress. But instead, the focus has been on the next Congress and whether or not Arlen Specter will be the next judiciary chairman. Conservatives still irate about some comments Specter made right after the election, suggesting it will be difficult for an anti- abortion nominee to make it through the Senate, on to the Supreme Court, if in fact there's a vacancy in the next Congress. Right now, this morning, Arlen Specter faced over an hour of tough questions from Republican leaders behind closed doors demanding some answers from Specter about what he meant by those comments, what kind of a chairman will he be. Conservative outside groups are really putting the pressure on Republican leaders here on the Hill, saying that they helped deliver the last election for Republicans, that they're owed. They want one of their own, a conservative to be running any confirmation hearings for the high court next year. And, in fact, one of these groups, the Christian Defense Coalition, held a demonstration today on Capitol Hill saying Specter is not the right man for the job. Here's what Robert Schenck had to say.
[Robert Schenck, Christian Defense Coalition:] Senator Specter's record is clear. He holds the president's principles in contempt, calling them extremist and fringe.
[Henry:] Now, a key person to watch in all of this is Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who was at the meeting this morning in his office with Senator Specter and other Republican leaders. So far he's refused to endorse Specter. And at this Christian Defense Coalition event today on the Hill, there was a sign saying, "Senator Frist, do the right thing" in the mind of these conservatives, "stop Specter." There was also these conservative activists then went to Bill Frist's office to pray for again for him to block Arlen Specter. Specter now has some tough questioning this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. He's going to go behind closed doors with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. They also have some questions for him. And the subtext here, in terms of watching Bill Frist, is the fact that it's an open secret on the Hill that Bill Frist is taking a look at running for president in 2008. Conservative groups putting a lot of pressure on him to try to stop Specter. I can tell you the Frist staff says that that political calculation is not weighing on his mind at all. That in fact Frist is not looking ahead. Instead, he's focused on what's happening right now, and he's going to have an open mind for Arlen Specter. Insiders here in the Republican conference say that the next 24 to 48 hours will be very important for Arlen Specter. He needs to put this behind him. He needs to answer these tough questions from the Judiciary Committee Republicans. They say if he does not put this behind him in the next couple of days, conservatives will whip up more opposition because the formal vote on Specter and whether or not he'll be the chairman is not until January. If conservatives have more time to oppose him, it will be very difficult for him to stop it. Now, what's working in Specter's favor right now, however, is that some colleagues like John McCain, Judd Gregg, other Republicans have come out to support Specter, saying that the seniority system should work, he's next in line and he should get it. They're also saying that in fact it would be a bad sign to stop a moderate Republican so soon after the election. That would send a bad sign across the country. And finally, one interesting scenario that continues to be floated is that if Specter is stopped, some people are saying maybe Orrin Hatch, the current chairman, will get a waiver and stay on as chairman Candy.
[Crowley:] Ed Henry. One of those truisms in politics, the guys who win big are always the first ones to start fighting with each other. Thanks very much. With the Senate's return today, the Democratic caucus formally elected Harry Reid of Nevada as the new minority leader. Speaking to reporters with other Democratic leaders, Reid acknowledged his party's weakened position after Election Day. He said he was ready to work with the Bush White House and Republicans but willing to work against them if necessary.
[Sen. Harry Reid , Incoming Minority Leader:] We're going to work with the president. He said four years ago he wanted to be a uniter. He called me the day after the election and said he wanted to be a uniter. It didn't work too well the first four years. We hope it works the second four years.
[Crowley:] Reid briefly paid tribute to defeated senator and outgoing Minority Leader Tom Daschle, as well as his returning colleague, John Kerry. Reid says Senator Kerry got more than one standing ovation during the Democrats' caucus meeting today. We will have a live report later on Reid and the Democrats. And we have more on the Republican wrangling over Arlen Specter. Up next, we'll get an insiders' take on Specter's lobbying campaign from Senate majority whip Mitch McConnell. Plus, how does Condoleezza Rice compare to foreign policy honchos of administrations past? And later, we'll catch up with Bill Clinton as he prepares to inaugurate his presidential library. This is INSIDE POLITICS, the place for campaign news.