Yesterday morning, the idea that Condoleezza Rice was topping Mitt Romney’s VP list would have seemed wildly unlikely. It’s amazing what a Drudge scoop and banner headline can do in just a few short hours:
Late Thursday evening, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign launched a new fundraising drive, ‘Meet The VP’ — just as Romney himself has narrowed the field of candidates to a handful, sources reveal.
And a surprise name is now near the top of the list: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice!
The timing of the announcement is now set for “coming weeks.”
Ann Romney did say her husband was considering a female candidate, though the initial assumption at the time was that she was referring to Sen. Kelly Ayotte. Sure, Condoleezza has come up in the VP speculation, but it never seemed like a serious consideration for either side. Plus, Condi shut down rumors pretty thoroughly late last month:
Rice told “CBS This Morning” she’s not interested in joining Romney, who has more than enough delegates to win the presidential nod at the party convention in Tampa.
Rice said, “I didn’t run for student council president. I don’t see myself in any way in elective office.”
Rice also said, “There is no way that I will do this because it’s really not me. I know my strengths and weaknesses.” She said Romney will pick a strong running mate and she’ll support the ticket.
That was a pretty straightforward rejection. But it’s always possible she could change her mind, a la Chris Christie.
At the Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol stops short of endorsing the idea, but seems to think Condi’s a possibility:
Who’s the woman? It could be Kelly Ayotte or New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. But as much as I like both of them, I suspect Mitt Romney will see them as risky picks, lacking sufficient high-level government experience to unequivocally answer the question of whether they’d be qualified to take over. No, the woman Ann Romney likely has in mind is Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state.
Rice wowed the crowd—and seemed to impress Mitt Romney, who was standing beside her—when she spoke in a featured role at a Romney campaign event two weeks ago in Park City, Utah. Rice is qualified, would be a poised (if novice) candidate, and would complement Romney in terms of area of expertise, gender (obviously!), and life experience. Rice offers an unusual combination of being at once a reassuring pick (she served at the highest levels of the federal government for eight years) and an exciting one.
What’s more, while the other VP possibilities have decent but middling favorable/unfavorable ratings (and are mostly unknown), Rice’s favorable/unfavorable, according to a Rasmussen poll a couple of months ago, is a pretty staggering 66-24. Rice has said she’s not interested—but Dick Cheney said he wasn’t interested at this point in 2000.
There would be many benefits of choosing Rice (particularly the “exciting” but “reassuring” qualities that Kristol notes), but she also carries her own risks. She has little practice on the campaign trail, and Romney seems to want someone who is capable of campaigning independently. It’s hard to tell at this point if Rice is a serious consideration for Romney, or if this is a way to change the subject during a difficult week for the campaign.
I will not be happy with this pick and it won't get him any traction with black voters. I think I'll hold off on my donation until the choice is made public.
Rice, while having experience, is not suitable to the VP spot, much less a possible President of the United States should Romney not be able to finish his term. Her experiences were less than accomplished in that she had little force in the Bush administration, lost battles to Cheney and, in particular, to Rumsfeld (as I recall reading) and her only true qualification was that President Bush and she enjoyed and watched football games together. Hardly the stuff of great leaders. n nAnd if you want to say that, well, she's better than Joe Biden, that will not fly with voters. Sure, Biden is less than presidential and he makes constant, though entertaining, gaffes. But the election will not turn on the VP candidate. It will turn on the presidential candidates, as it always does. n nIn addition, Rice as a female candidate, will not attract female voters. (She obviously will not attract black voters because Obama has them, and they consistently vote democratic.) Rice has no children, never married, and is, quite frankly, out of touch with women's issues because she does not face what women face today. How is she to talk to women and identify with their concerns? n nRice would make headlines, it would give us all something fun to talk about for a while, but in the end she would add little and may even detract from Romney. Such a decision could be seen as going for votes and not competence, a bad signal to send. At a time that country is screaming for leadership and competence, Mr. Romney can, and should, do better.
Carpin,carping, carping……..Condi Rice would certainly cut into Obama's black support- there are plenty of African-Americans who are very unhappy with the President and are only waiting for the opportunity to vote republican- without rejecting a "brother'! Condi would do this. nWomen , too, would flock to her- single women and women who have achieved great things. The married women , in any case, are attracted by Romney and Anne. Condi would bring some of the "other' women to the table. it is unclear what this would do for the Hispanic vote but it cannot hurt. nShe was competent and very effective in the Bush administration- so what that she lost some battlles againdt the Veep or the Sec-defense? nShe would balance the ticket beautifully- a woman, an expert in foreign affairs, an African-American and an attractive person altogether. All that said, I don't think that Romney will take her and will probably choose either Rubio or Ryan.
Rice compared Israel's security checkpoints, intended to keep Arabs from blowing up Jews and Arabs within Israel, to the segregated schools and public accommodations of her childhood, designed to perpetuate white supremacy. Having someone that facile and naive as secretary of state bothered me; having her as VP terrifies me.
ahad—-I have never heard that said by Condi. can you substantiate it? (and in full context, please!)
That being said, and even with her support for letting Hamas run in the PA elections (in clear violation of the Oslo suicide pact — I mean Accords), there is still no alternative to Obama. After what he did in his first term, both to Israel and the US, I am not eager to give him a chance to do further damage without so much as another election to restrain him.
I hope it is a typo- "there is still NO alternative to Obama.
michaelmas12 says:
July 13, 2012 at 2:07 pm
ahad—-I have never heard that said by Condi. can you substantiate it? (and in full context, please!)
Well here’s a link to start with
Not because they are Palestinian but because of of the terrorists in their midst. There are any number of “checkpoints” for Israelis just to get into a mall to buy some pizza thanks to Arab violence.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/4/baghdad-gaza-arent-birmingham/print/
” Hers is a worldview personal to the point of autobiographical, as when she explains how, as a daughter of Birmingham (or “Bombingham,” as she has called it), she can relate both to Israeli fear of Palestinian bombs, and Palestinian “humiliation and powerlessness” over Israeli checkpoints, which she sees as a form of segregation. What she never seems to realize is that such “segregation,” far being the sort of prejudice she remembers, is actually an Israeli line of defense against the ultimate prejudice of Palestinian bombs. “
Actually the problem is not that Condi lost battles to with Cheney but rather that she was (in some cases) inclined to fight them. Clearly the Cheney foreign policy was comprehensively more constant with American values and interests. And indeed, in the 2nd Bush term she did prevail in many battles with Cheney, very much to the detriment of America's strategic posture, as she embarked on Condi's All Retreat All Surrender World Tour.
I didn't particularly like her as National Security Advisor or Secretary of State, but I think she would be a good pick for VP.
I think (hope) he's just warming folks up for his real pick, Ms. P.
Rice's experience in the Jim Crow South was of little consequence and less significance, compared to that of Herman Cain. But who cares? Rice is an "elite", whereas Cain is nothing more than a self-made, successful, well-to-do, business executive.
ahad—–please don't copy the habits of our enemies- taking everything out of context!!!!! If you actually READ the whole article in the Washington Post that you direct us to- you will see a very different image than what you peremptorily describe as- "Condi compares her struggles to the Palestinian struggles "'! nBased on the article- which was held at a so-called peace conference, for heaven's sake- she was eloquent in protraying Israel's travails and-,in a nod to the Palestinian side- tried the even-handed side. The policies of the Bush administration- where Condi was a crucial figure- were the most pro-Israel in a long time.