Baker Institutes 15th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Remarks at the Baker Institutes 15th Rosetta Stone Anniversary GalaDinnerSecretary Condoleezza RiceRiceUniversityHouston, TexasNovember 13, 2008SECRETARYRICE: Thank you very much. Well, its really great to behere at Rice University and here in the state of Texas. As amatter of fact, when I told the President, with whom I wasin New York earlier today, that I was on my way to Texas, hesaid to say hello to all of you. He said hes going to becoming back soon. (Laughter.)Im going to be going backsoon, too, but not to Texas. Im going to be headed backto California, which has become my home over the last 25years. And I dont want to leave the impression that Imin a hurry to get out of Washington. Im not. After all,Washington and California have a lot in common. There aresome difference, like the great weather in California, thegreat food in California, the great people in California x2013,(laughter) -- Pac-10 sports. On second thought, maybe I amin a hurry to get back to California. (Laughter.) But inall seriousness, change is a good thing. And I do think thatthe time comes when it is time for new people and time fornew ideas. And the wonderful thing about our country is thatit has a way of renewing itself through a democratic processthat we all respect and that indeed has the respect of theworld. And I just have to say that the election that we justhad last Tuesday is one that has been watched around theworld. It has been watched in far corners, where peoplesuddenly know what the Iowa Caucus is, and its beenwatched because it is an election that is historic.(Applause.)For a country that has come so far acountry that has come so far in overcoming deep differences,differences that were so Rosetta Stone American English severe that a girl like me, grew upin segregated Birmingham, Alabama to now elect an AfricanAmerican President is an extraordinary matter, and it saysto the world that differences can be overcome. And in aworld in which difference is still a license to kill,thats an awfully important message. And so, to theAmerican people, I want to just say how proud I am and howproud I am to have represented this great country.Imdelighted to be here tonight. Im especially pleased to behere with my good friend and mentor and predecessor JimBaker, with the great founding director of this institute EdDjerejian. Its great to be at this terrific university. Iwant to thank President Leebron for his wonderful leadershipof Rice. And he has, in fact, been involved in a universitypresidents leadership forum that we have had at the StateDepartment. Its really just great to be here, becausethis Institute is, indeed, doing great work. And its onlyfitting that it is doing the work of bridging theory andpractice, of bridging domestic and foreign, because it isnamed for someone who has done all of that with greateloquence and elegance, with great skill, with greatintegrity, with great commitment and dedication, and withgreat success, and that is Jim Baker. (Applause.)I wasfortunate indeed to, as Jim mentioned, to be the White HouseSoviet specialist at the end of the Cold War. And frankly,it doesnt get much better than that, because the SovietUnion was indeed collapsing, Eastern Europe was beingliberated, Germany was unifying. But it was not an easytime. It was a time at which the world seemed to be turnedon its head. And it was a time when skillful diplomacy andstatecraft were demanded. And America was very fortunate atthat time to have Jim Baker as its chief diplomat, workingfor George H.W. Bush, a man committed to Americanvalues.Jim Baker, I think, engaged in some of thegreatest statecraft of the 20th century in bringing aboutthe peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union. And just thinkabout it, one fine December night -- as a matter ofChristmas night in 1991 a country with 30,000 nuclearweapons, with 5 million men under arms, spanning 12different time zones, that had been an implacable enemy ofthe United States for decades, suddenly, just quietly wentaway. It didnt. It had to be shepherded that way, and JimBaker was the chief shepherd. And Jim, it was a greatpleasure and honor to Rosetta Stone Chinese work with you. (Applause.)But asincredible as those times were, we have to recognize thatthey teach us something about other tumultuous times.Because indeed, 1989 and 1990 and 1991 were reassuring andreaffirming about our values that, indeed, no matter howpowerful the Soviet Union looked, it was weak when it cameto the ability to speak to the needs of its people and tofeed their deep desire for human dignity and freedom.Butof course, that had not always it had not always lookedas if it would turn out that way. Indeed, yes, the UnitedStates enjoyed great military strength, and it enjoyed greateconomic might, and it enjoyed alliances like the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization. But more than anything, itenjoyed the perch of a system of values that turned out justto be too strong for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe toresist. But what it teaches us about tumultuous times isthat you have to stay true to those values even when itlooks as if perhaps they are not triumphing.