Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice commented on sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, and about George W. Bush's perceived lack of intellectual curiosity, in an interview on "Hannity" on Fox News Tuesday night.
Politico reported Sunday that two women had accused Cain of inappropriate behavior while he was head of the National Restaurant Association, and had received financial payouts. His response to the story has shifted multiple times this week, from claiming to know nothing about the settlements to admitting some prior knowledge.
"The truth will come out. And hopefully, we can get past it so that the very interesting debate that we're having on the Republican side about how to think about the size of government, how to think about dealing with our core issues, like education and immigration, that we can get back to that," Rice said. "But I'm not surprised, and I'll tell you I don't like to play the race card on either side."
In her memoir, No Higher Honor, Rice defended President Bush against people who played the "explosive 'race card'" against him.
Rice's memoir also details her sometimes strange meetings with foreign leaders. Among the most bizarre is her meeting with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who presented her with a scrapbook of pictures of her alongside other foreign officials, as well as a song composed by a Libyan composer, titled "Black Flower in the White House."
Rice also defended President Bush against the perception that he is uncurious and anti-intellectual. "I think the greatest misconception about George W. Bush was that he was somehow not interested, not curious, didn't ask tough questions. I saw more cabinet secretaries go into the Oval Office with their presentations about whatever issue and before they could get to page two, he'd ask the most incisive question that they'd forgotten to prepare for," she said on Fox.
"And he was a strategic thinker, always looking at the big picture, always looking at how to think about America's values and America's power in a way that would really progress, make the world more progressive, make the world freer, more prosperous. And he was an exceptional president in that way. And I just loved working with him, because he was so insightful. And he also read five books for every one that I read," she continued.
Former Bush White House senior adviser Karl Rove also wrote in a 2008 column that Bush loved books, and the two "recommended volumes to each other."
Rice also said she would support the Republican nominee. "You learn a lot in these primaries about how people will stand up to pressure. And so, you know, we'll have a nominee soon. And then I'll support that nominee."