Rice looks on bright side on way out

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Secretary Rice began her farewell press conference this morning with an unusual admission that the Bush administration has erred in some of its policies over the past eight years.

"America is not without its ability to make mistakes, like anyone can," Rice said as she stood at the podium in a red suit, looking cheerful rather than teary-eyed at the prospect of leaving. "But it is also a country that tries to do the right thing -- not always the easy thing, but the right thing."

Like her boss President Bush in his Thursday night farewell address, Rice did not catalogue what mistakes she believes were made, and never mentioned the invasion of Iraq.

But she seemed to allude to it as she talked about the good intentions she said were always behind US policy, including refugee and humanitarian assistance -- which she called a "hallmark" of Bush's presidency -- to "sometimes using American power to deal with difficult and sometimes controversial issues."

"I think the United States of America is extraordinary in being a powerful country that has never sought and will never seek empire," she said.

On Thursday, Rice celebrated President Bush's foreign policy achievements at a ceremony attended by envoys from Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Afghanistan, and Iraq -- five countries that she said made historic strides towards democratic governance during his time in office. She lauded the president for his role in expanding NATO and assured him that future generations would appreciate his policies more.

"History, Mr. President, has a way of playing a little trick on human memory," Rice said. "As the din of debate and argument fades, things that were once thought to be impossible are remembered years later as, well, inevitable. That is why, Mr. President, history’s judgment is rarely the same as today’s headlines."

After Rice gave Bush and Mrs. Bush commemorations at the State Department, she lunched with her successor, Hillary Clinton, at the State Department. Aides say Rice, who has logged nearly a million miles in her time as Secretary of State, is eager hand off the world's most pressing problems and return to Stanford University, where she served as provost prior to joining Bush's campaign and administration.