Condoleezza Rice at NAR conference

Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State and current Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, laid out the following agenda items that the U.S, as a country must do:

1. We have to protect ourselves.
2. We have to improve the circumstances for others. Failed states are the ones that threaten us the most; for example, Pakistan, Afghanistan and areas of the Mexico/U.S. border.
3. We have to promote global economic growth.
4. We have to keep our country open so ambitious people to immigate here.
5. We must do better for the least among us - those born into the worst of circumstances.
6. We must have an optimism about the future.
7. We have to stay focused on what is important.

She then sat beside Charles McMillan, NAR president, for an interview. Among the information Ms. Rice shared, she said she has owned 5 homes. Her first home was a 2 bedroom, 1 bath flat in Palo Alto for over $100,000 (when she was earning $20,000/year). She had to work through her aunt to get some money from a trust fund for the down payment, and her aunt told her "don't you think that's a little beyond your means." She equated the Oval Office to a shrine to democracy. She also shared the story of her first time in the Oval Office, when her task was to take notes. She realized 20 minutes into the meeting that she hadn't taken one note, she was in such awe of her surroundings. When talking about the future of our country, she suggested we keep in mind that "things that seem impossible, later seem inevitable," referring to events such as tearing down the Berlin Wall, landing on the moon, etc.

I think a lot of people left the room wishing she would run for president, although she indicated she would not be the first female president, recognizing the traditional pool for presidential candidates consists of governors and senators.