THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

摘要

Here's what it's like to face condoleezza Rice. When she walks into the room, she opens a slim leather notebook and pulls out a couple of 3-by-8 note cards imprinted with the words secretary of state and filled with half a dozen key words distilled from hours of speed readings and briefings. She will let her hosts do most of the talking while she tries to assess their bottom lines. In a negotiation, she sits archer-straight, lowers her voice and deploys a laser-like glare. "You need to do better than that," she will say. "You can't sit there and tell me that is the best you can do." If you continue to resist, she will dismiss her entourage, then go at it, mano a mano, until someone relents. Says a close Rice adviser who has witnessed her technique: "The phrase 'hammer it out' comes to mind."