Condoleezza revisits Silicon Valley roots, via Google

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addresses the media in the sunny quad of Google's Mountain View, Calif., campus.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)

We knew it wasn't going to be an ordinary visit to the Googleplex when we saw the Bomb Squad truck in the parking lot.

This time, the security precautions were for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart David Miliband, who were visiting Silicon Valley to tour various companies and meet with tech industry leaders.

I headed to the Mountain View, Calif., campus Thursday afternoon with CNET News.com's multimedia team (consisting of me, cameraman Jared Kohler, and photographer James Martin). After a yellow lab sniffed our cameras and tripod, plus my purse, for drugs, bombs, and other no-nos, we joined other members of the media in a roped off "safe zone" in the middle of Google's main quad. After an hour sunning ourselves in the media pen, Rice and Miliband emerged from their "fireside chat" with Googlers and addressed the media for a brief 10 minutes.

Rice visited Google with her British counterpart, David Miliband.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)

Five reporters got to ask questions, and even though we were in the heart of tech country, most queries focused on foreign policy--Rice's stance on freeing Guantanamo Bay prisoners, strife in Iran, etc., which she answered, not surprisingly, with canned political-speak.

Yours truly was the only reporter who squeezed in a tech question; I asked about Rice's visit to Google and if she was surprised to be invited to such a well-known liberal outpost in the Valley.

In response, she laughed, saying that "Google is not about politics. Google is about innovation and technology and about creativity of people and about what freedom permits in this great environment." She also reminded the audience that she's no stranger to the Valley, having begun her professorship at Stanford in 1981. At that point, Secretary Miliband chided me as the question asker by saying Rice's Stanford stint was before I was born (for the record, I was alive in '81. I'm a child of the '70s!).

Before we knew it, the pair said their goodbyes and were whisked away by Secret Service. We never even got to find out what they ate in the Google cafeteria.

The Secret Service does not provide protection for Sec. Rice and foreign ministers. The Diplomatic Security Service has that responsibility. Check your facts.

The Secret Service does not provide protection for Sec. Rice and foreign ministers. The Diplomatic Security Service has that responsibility. Check your facts.

[savvydude]

The U. S. Secretary of State and the British counterpart visits Silicon Valley and all you took from it is a whiney, smarmy and sniveling experience? Next time, stay home.

[jsdfoiwj_thompson]

the 70s... the 70s... ask her again about the 70s when you get a chance!

[Peter_Dow]

Kara - You went with a cameraman? So where is the video? I see the photos but no video on this page nor a link to a video.

Or wasn't the camera working. Or have you not edited it yet? Or it's done and you haven't uploaded it on to the web yet?

Well when it is on the web would you please send me a link to it? Or attach it to an email if it is less than 10MB I think the limit for Yahoo mail is. [e-mail]

Or just upload it to YouTube. Or something. Great that you went and took video - now how about letting the rest of the world see?

- Peter Dow,
Owner, Rice for President Yahoo Group
Condoleezza Rice for President in 2012. Join this group of supporters from everywhere on the world wide web.
(Also pressing for a McCain - Rice ticket, Condi for VP.)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rice-for-president/

[benjaminstraight]

Cool visit.