Posted on 04/09/2008 4:00:38 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says repeatedly she does not "do politics" but her name keeps popping up as a potential running mate for Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate.
Rice's spokesman tried yet again on Monday to quash reports that Rice wants the No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket but blogs and political Web sites are still buzzing.
"I don't know how many ways she can say no," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack of reports that Rice is actively campaigning to join the Arizona senator's ticket.
"She has got to finish up her work as secretary of state and then head back out West ... to go to Stanford. Remember, she is still a tenured professor at Stanford and only on leave from Stanford. She fully intends to go back," he added.
On Sunday, Dan Senor, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority that governed Iraq after the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion, said Rice was courting conservatives for the job.
"Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this," Senor told ABC's "This Week" program.
Rice fueled speculation when she attended a meeting at the end of March with conservatives from an anti-tax lobbying group run by conservative activist Grover Norquist.
Rice's staff forcefully rejected the idea that she attended the Americans for Tax Reform meeting as a way to advertise her interest in the vice presidential job, saying she went to discuss foreign policy.
Rice reiterated her lack of interest in an interview with The Washington Times last month.
"I don't do politics," she told the newspaper, repeating that she planned to return to her California home when the Bush administration ends in January 2009.
DIPPING INTO DOMESTIC POLICY
Despite her claims of disinterest, Rice has been dipping more frequently into domestic politics and showing a lighter side, such as sharing her exercising tips with Fitness magazine and doing an interview with Parade magazine.
With the Washington Times, Rice aired her thoughts on education and race in the United States, which has emerged as a prominent issue in the presidential campaign because of Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama would be the first black U.S. president if he wins the Democratic nomination and beats McCain in the November election to succeed President George W. Bush.
Rice is the top-ranking African-American and woman in Bush's cabinet and some political experts see her as a way to balance out the Republican Party ticket, which will face either a black man, if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee, or a woman, if Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York prevails.
But Rice's role as one of the principal architects of the Iraq war and its chaotic aftermath weigh against her as McCain's choice and even Rice has conceded it might be better for McCain not to turn to a Bush administration official.
"It's time for new blood," she told The Washington Times.
When asked by reporters on Sunday whether Rice had been courting him for the vice presidential slot, McCain was nonchalant. "I missed those signals," he said.
While conceding that she held some responsibility for the management of the war, he praised Rice as a "great American" who served as a role model for millions of people.
"Her overall record is very, very meritorious," said McCain.
Right on, 2DV.
A good decision.
God “will bless those who bless the Jews and curse whoever curses the Jews.” Genesis 12:3
Picking Rice would be a huge stategic mistake for McCain.
I think he is going to pick Hillary after she loses to Obama
“I don’t know how many ways she can say no”
General Sherman solved this problem long ago, with the immortal words “If nominated I will not run. If elected I will not serve”. Methinks the coy lady doth protest too much.
This rumor was started by the dems. All she wants is football. She is elegant and intelligent. Dems picked out pres. nominee, in Fla. now they want to pick our vp nominee. You lost again dems. Chaos continues.
The only candidates who can admit they want to be VP are the ones who can't possibly be considered seriously. Al Sharpton might announce.
I must have missed the news conference where McCain announced that he was angling for Kerry's VP spot.
Unless she makes a Shermanesque statement she's in the running.
Let's see, his MSM buddies would love it, it would preserve his "maverick" image, and it would stab conservatives in the back. Sounds entirely too likely.
And that would be a good choice, because I am about as likely to vote for one as for the other of them.
Besides which, they make such a pretty pair, don't they?
It's precisely because of snide comments like this one that this fine person has no interest in running for any political office. And I appreciate that your comment is very mild compared to what would be said if she did have an interest in running for office.
There are a lot of fine Americans who have no interest in public office precisely because of the incivility and the viciousness and the lack of privacy that now is the norm.
I think that is a great loss for our country.
I congratulate you for seeing just how simple the matter is.
And certainly if YOU are aware of the quote and I am aware of the quote, it is unlikely that Condi or somebody who advises her is not aware of it.
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