Madeline Albright stands up for Susan Rice

Madeline Albright defended UN ambassador Susan Rice against the political attacks that caused her to pull out of consideration as the next Secretary of State.

Albright, herself a former US Secretary of State Albright and UN ambassador under Bill Clinton, said Friday morning on "CBS This Morning" that Rice "would have been great" for the position and "didn't deserve" the GOP's harsh criticism. 

"I think it’s very political and sad, and does not speak well for those who attacked her," Albright said Friday. "I’ve known Susan since she was 4 years old. I think she’s a remarkable person who has served our country in a number of different posts. …I think she’s done an amazing job at the United Nations, making very clear what American national interests are and I think she would have been a great secretary of state." 

Several prominent Republicans repeatedly accused Rice of misleading the public in her discussions of the attacks on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead. 

Rice withdrew her name from the pool of possible replacements for Hillary Clinton on Thursday. 

"I have never shied away from a fight for a cause I believe in," Rice wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. "But, as it became clear that my potential nomination would spark an enduring partisan battle, I concluded that it would be wrong to allow this debate to continue distracting from urgent national priorities." 

Obama reportedly did not try to convince Rice, who will continue her work at the UN, to stay in the ring, though he had indicated he would fight the Senate Republicans if need be, according to the Hill.

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