According to a new book by Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice co-owns a house and shares a line of credit with a close personal female friend. The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy does not shed light on the exact nature of the relationship between the highest-ranking member of the Cabinet and the documentary filmmaker, Randy Bean.
Real estate records examined by Kessler show that Rice and Bean co-purchased the home in Palo Alto, California, with Coit Blacker, an openly gay Stanford University professor who later sold his line of credit to the women. Bean, who once worked with journalist Bill Moyers, has said that the strain of her medical bills necessitated assistance in purchasing the house.
Long the target of speculation about her sexual orientation, Rice declined suggestions to run for president in 2008. She plans to return to Stanford, where she had been provost, after she departs the White House.
During her tenure in the Bush Administration, Rice has been criticized for the State Department’s silence on the hanging of gay teenagers in Iran, as well as her absence of comment on whether LGBT individuals should be allowed to serve openly in the military, and on immigration rights for permanent partners of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
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