I’m not so convinced she doesn’t want it. Why meet with Grover Norquist, who is mainly a “leave us alone” domestic policy guy, if you aren’t angling to shore up your base among conservatives?

Look, this is just dumb.

The Obama people had NOTHING to do with this. This is all internal Republican Politics.

Condi Rice did go to meet with Grover. You don’t do that unless you’re trying to get right with the Base.

Grover did come out and endorse her as a “conservative”. Even if McCain doesn’t pick her, Rice has Grover in her corner for a future run at the Governor’s shop in Alabama or CA (I actually think she’s going at Alabama once she leaves DC if JMC doesn’t pick her).

I actually think that JMC has some really lean pickings this year at the second slot. It’s tough for him. There’s a real thin bench. He needs someone who can BE President if something happens to him.

I think the logic of this race is somewhat counterintuitive to the Conventional Wisdom that says that McCain must Run Away from the War. I think that’s deadly for him. He needs to double down and do the opposite.

Maybe competency should be considered. From swimming freestyle:

“Prior to her tenure as Secretary of State, Ms. Rice served as National Security Advisor to President Bush from his inauguration until Colin Powell resigned in 2005. In other words, Ms. Rice was responsible to be the chief advisor to the President on all national security issues prior and subsequent to September 11, 2001. (Has anyone seen that “Al Qaeda Determined to Attack United States” memo?) If I were her, I might consider leaving this job off my resume.”

http://swimmingfreestyle.typepad.com

Whoever started the rumor and whatever the grounds for it might be, it’s a bad idea and I doubt it gets traction. She won’t be VEEP because she doesn’t add domestic/economic policy expertise to McCain’s portfolio. She would also be a highly symbolic tie to the Bush administration which McCain won’t want.

It’s not that he’s going to run away from Iraq or that he needs to - he doesn’t, he won’t. He was a critic of Bush’s early conduct of the Iraq war. Rice, unfortunately, although not SecDef, still is part of the Bush admin.

Also, she’s never run for elective office and has never had that kind of profile and doesn’t have a political base. She’s an admirable, smart person, but not the choice for VEEP.

[…] PunditGuy - Condi Won’t Be Veep I hate to break it to Eugene Robinson, but Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will not be picked by John McCain as his running mate. She doesn’t want to be Vice President. She never wanted to be Vice President. […]