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Washington: Condoleezza Rice has chalked up a remarkable first for a US secretary of state with her inclusion on Vanity Fair's International Best-Dressed List.
She was cited for being "immaculately groomed and formidably dignified but with an audacious renegade streak".
It is statesmen such as Henry Kissinger whom she would like to be named alongside, not her fellow Vanity Fair prize-winners, Renee Zellweger and Prince William. These days she is winning few plaudits for her performance on the diplomatic stage.
In the wake of the toughest fortnight of her career even some of her fans suggest that the high-profile Condi routine may be losing its appeal.
One senior Middle Eastern diplomat said: "Not only is she courteous but she sits down and talks. But things are coming to a stage where talk is not enough where sitting down and listening is not enough."
Since her appointment in January last year she has had barely a negative headline. Her concert-level piano-playing, dawn fitness routine, and an appearance in knee-high "dominatrix" boots, which were cited for approval by Vanity Fair, have all been deployed to promote her image and US power. But the Middle East has proved more of a quicksand for her talents.
Administration officials are far from in despair. They say the loss of the goodwill they had recouped over the last year is a price worth paying if they pull off a long-term solution.
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