Condoleezza Rice for Vice President?

The Associated Press

A future commander-in-chief? Or the object of mere speculation?

Featured Topic | Posted 33 weeks 5 days ago

Condoleezza Rice for Vice President?

She was the second African-American secretary of state, but the first black national security advisor. She worked for George W. Bush's father. She was provost at Stanford. She's an accomplished concert pianist. She has an oil tanker named after her. So Condoleeza Rice is certainly prominent enough for political operatives and media mavens to name her as a would-be vice-president. But is that enough?

Evidently not. Now that everybody is dismissing it, we know there's really something up for sure about Rice possibly becoming a vice presidential candidate with the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. Obviously, the choice is his. He's stubborn enough not to be pushed.

But is Rice good enough to be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office? Does her record at the State Department and before withstand scrutiny? Or do her public positions on the Arab-Israeli conflict, North Korea and other diplomatic challenges undercut Rice's political appeal?

Ben likes: A bad choice for veep

Jay Cost/Real Clear Politics

That is how I would characterize the thought of putting Condi Rice on the Republican ticket.I am sympathetic to the idea that McCain needs a veep candidate to satisfy conservatives. I expect most self-identified Republicans will ultimately vote for him in November, but their enthusiasm would be an asset. It would be good if he can firm them up with his veep choice.However, McCain should not nominate anybody with strong attachments to the Bush administration.

George Bush's job approval rating is in the cellar. It has been in the cellar for two years, and there seems to me to be no reason to think that it will be anywhere but the cellar come Election Day. This means that the "median voter" -- the guy or gal right smack dab in the middle of the electorate who will essentially decide the whole thing -- disapproves of George W. Bush. If McCain wants to win this election, this is the person whose vote he must win. And nominating Bush's Secretary of State will hinder, rather than help him.

Joel likes: Run, Condi, run!

Eugene Robinson/Washington Post

She wouldn't bring any political base to the ticket, since she doesn't have one. She wouldn't bring any regional advantage, since McCain is almost certain to beat either Democrat in Rice's native state of Alabama, and almost certain to lose to either Democrat in Rice's adopted state of California.

And while McCain has tied his candidacy to the Iraq occupation, he maintains some distance from the Bush administration by charging that until recently the war was woefully mismanaged. Rice, as national security adviser in Bush's first term, was one of the mismanagers.

I can't help but imagine having another controversial, larger-than-life character wade into the fray, one who not only raises McCain's big wager on Iraq but also takes us further into terra incognita on issues of race and gender. Whatever you think of Condoleezza Rice, she's a formidable woman with more qualifications than almost any other vice presidential choice I can think of.