Condoleeza Rice Spends The Week At Broadway Shows and Shopping On Fifth Avenue

Condoleeza Rice Spends The Week At Broadway Shows and Shopping On Fifth Avenue

Yeshim Deniz, September 2nd 2005

Yesterday she was shopping on Fifth Avenue. According to several published reports, she spent the Wednesday night at a Broadway show “Spamalot,” laughing in tears throughout the show. She was also missing (of course) from the cabinet photos all week long (naturally). “Eyewitness: Sec of State Condi Rice laughs it up at ‘Spamalot’ while Gulf Coast lays in tatters. Theater goers on New York’ City’s Great White Way were shocked to see the President’s former National Security Advisor at the Monty Python farce last night — as the rest of the cabinet responds to Hurricane Katrina…” And yesterday she was seen shopping in a luxury shoe store on Fifth Avenue. “Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, “How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!” Never one to have her fashion choices questioned, Rice had security PHYSICALLY REMOVE the woman.” “Today’s New York Times. I don’t know if anyone delivered the paper to Condoleeza’s hotel room this morning,” writes blogger Yeshim Deniz New York Daily News also reported this morning in its story entitled “As South drowns, Rice soaks in N.Y.” and asked “Did New Yorkers chase Condoleezza Rice back to Washington yesterday?” “Like President Bush, the Secretary of State has been on vacation during the Hurricane Katrina crisis, with Rice enjoying her downtime in New York Wednesday and yesterday. The cabinet member’s responsibilities are usually international, but her timing contributed to the “fiddling while Rome burns” impression given by her boss during the disaster, which may have claimed thousands of lives. On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at “Spamalot!,” the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance. Rice was not present in any of the cabinet meetings this week, including the one pictured above. She was at a Broadway comedy during this meeting and shopping on Fifth Avenue the next day. At the State Department’s daily briefing yesterday morning, before the New York incident, spokesman Sean McCormack responded to a journalist who asked whether Rice was involved with hurricane relief efforts by saying, “She’s in contact with the department as appropriate.” He made no mention that his boss had any plans to leave New York. But yesterday afternoon, Rice had done just that. Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore told us: “The secretary is back in Washington, and she is being briefed on the situation.” Moore did not know whether Condi had planned a longer stay here.”