The Most Powerful Woman in the World

Condi Rice has her work cut out for her at the Dept. of State:

Her rise to the top is a remarkable story of superhuman tenacity and single-mindedness. At its heart lies an unshakeable belief in her own ability to succeed and a ruthless dedication to advancing herself. It is a story of a life that began in the Deep South of a segregated America and has now reached the innermost sanctums of White House politics.
But it is a story that is only just beginning. For Rice's latest assignment is fraught with danger. She is tasked with bringing the State Department firmly in hand, stifling the barely concealed dissent that marked the tenure of Colin Powell. It will not be easy and is likely to spark the most fierce bout of Washington infighting in years. But for Bush the job is vital. The State Department must be brought to heel. It is Rice's job to win that battle for her boss.
'Can Rice transform the State Department into an obedient tool of the administration? That is the only question in town,' said Larry Haas, a Washington commentator and former official in the Bill Clinton White House. If she does, the Bush administration will at last be a united and monolithic bloc. The last whiff of internal dissent will have been snuffed out. Rice is in the fight of her life.

State has always been a thorn in the side of any Republican administration and Bush hasn't been spared. Perhaps four years of Rice will remake State into a credible organization that will push American interests first.