Condoleeza Rice and Coit Blacker are good friends. But as November approaches, the two Stanford political scientists find themselves on opposite sides of a heated political fight. When presidential hopefuls Al Gore and George W. Bush clash over U.S. relations with Russia, Blacker and Rice are pulling the strings.
The Farm is a natural place to find advice on the former Soviet Union. Bush tapped Rice, a former Stanford provost who was a special assistant to Bush's father in the White House. Gore picked Blacker, a senior fellow with Stanford's Institute for International Studies and a top Russia adviser for the Clinton administration. The professors work behind the scenes, keeping one eye on policy and another on domestic politics. Rice pushes a "quarantine" strategy that preaches strong national defense and view Russia with caution. Blacker crafted Clinton's "engagement" policy, which promotes close ties between the former adversaries. The presidential campaign has catapulted that dispute to the forefront of American politics.
Rice and Blacker don't disagree on everything, though. The pair gladly joined forces this spring for Democratic Partners: The U.S.-Russia Student Leadership Summit, a Stanford student-sponsored conference that brought 24 Russian college students to campus for a week of idea-sharing and debate. Rice and Blacker helped sponsor the summit (he chaired the faculty advisory board, she gave the first "seed" donation) and each spoke to the students. The soon-to-be-annual event reflected one of the few policy beliefs they share. "Both of us hold very strong views that Russia's best days are ahead of it," Rice says, "and we need to do something to invest in Russia's youth."
