CRAWFORD, Texas (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Democratic vice presidential pick Joseph Biden on Monday as "a fine statesman" and a "true patriot" -- praise the White House declined to echo.
"I am not going to comment on the politics of it. I'll just say that Senator Biden is obviously a very fine statesman," she told reporters on her way to the Middle East. "He's a true, true patriot."
Rice said Biden, who voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq but has sharply criticized the war, had been "really very supportive" of her diplomacy as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations committee.
Asked about her comments, White House spokesman Tony Fratto declined to embrace Rice's use of "patriot" or "statesman," saying instead that Biden "has done tremendous work over a long period, and I know he has been supportive of Secretary Rice's State Department."
And Fratto, speaking while US President George W. Bush spent time on his Texas ranch, noted that Rice "has made clear who she intends to vote for" -- fellow Republican John McCain.
Still, "for Senator Biden to be selected to run on his party's ticket for vice president is a great honor," the spokesman said after presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama chose Biden as his running mate.
"It's a great honor for anyone who has that opportunity to run in a national election like that, to aspire to represent the country," said Fratto.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
