Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that she is not interested in running for president in '08. "I don't have any desire to run for president, I don't intend to, I won't do it. I don't know how many ways to say 'No,'" she said on ABC's This Week.
And just to make sure we get the point, she told CBS's Face the Nation, "I've never wanted to run for anything." I want to do what I am doing — I love being secretary of state thus far. And one of these days very soon I am going to return and be an academic again and get back to the California life and to the world of ideas."
Despite having never run for office, Rice ranked second among women deemed best suited for the presidency in a nationwide poll conducted Feb. 10 to 17 with 42 percent, behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) with 53 percent.
She's a defense expert and hawk; she's "mildly" pro-choice, which would help with the broad middle; she's a religious pastor's daughter; she's tough without coming across as strident. Were she interested she would be a very intriguing option, but she says "no" and I'm not the kind of guy who thinks "no" means "yes."
It would appear that certain others are not deterred, however: check out Americans For Rice, Blogs For Condi, Draft Condi Rice, Rice 2008, Citizens For Condi.
Regardless of her intentions concerning future office, her State Department now looks like a real power center of Bush confidants:
- Longtime presidential adviser Karen Hughes will be named to a top post at the State Department on Monday, the White House said, and improving the U.S. image in the Arab world will be a top priority for her. An Egyptian-born White House aide will be nominated as Hughes' second-in-command.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Eric Berlin
Wow -- that's fairly big news considering her Big Mo was just starting to get rolling. Strange, too: within the last week, there were reports that Condi "wasn't refusing" and "leaving it open" with regard to an '08 run.
Possible that Bush, Mr. Loyalty First, Breakfast Second himself, laid the hammer down to prevent the coming Condi boomlet?
2 - Tristan
Should be an interesting run next time:
Condi vs. Jeb vs. Ahhhhnollldddd
(once they pass the Constitutional Ammendment allowing aliens to run for President ...)
3 - Justene
Cheney was not going to be VP. Headed up the search team because he was the ONLY one who was not going to be VP.
Condi really wants to be Commissioner of the NFL. Ask her. That's what she wants. When Dubya asks her to run in 08, what she wants will wait another 8 years.
4 - Silas Kain
I'm no fan of the Bush Administration but Condi Rice as President is not such a bad thought. She's not as vociferous as the vicious vigilantes of the (im)Moral Majority. She's got an impressive background. The way I see it she'd probably be the first President in the last 100 years who could qualify for MENSA.
5 - Eric Olsen
I would love to see Condi vs Hillary in '08 - there would be all kinds of strange dynamics we haven't seen before at the national level
6 - Eric Berlin
Agreed on the Condi / Hillary wishes -- it would blow apart any kind of conventional wisdom.
7 - Silas Kain
I've been saying we need a shake up in America's political system. Hillary vs. Condi would be quite the catalyst. So, what about running mates? Hillary Clinton / James Carville vs. Condi Rice / Tucker Carlson. At least we'll get a lot of CNN and MSNBC coverage.
8 - Eric Berlin
That's funny, Silas. Unfortunately, however, it's obvious that the country isn't very interested in any kind of a shake-up. (Proof: Bush the Second II).
We'll what's doing as '07 rolls around. Maybe there will be more of a mood for change by then. I certainly hope that will be the case.
9 - RJ
Candi can't win. Some people won't vote for her 'cuz she's black. Some people won't vote for her 'cuz she's a woman (though this becomes largely moot if the Dems nominate Hillary, as expected). And she's single, so the Lesbian rumors would kill her with the GOP base, even more than her pro-choice opinions.
Oh, and she's never been elected so much as dogcatcher.
She won;t run, 'cuz she can't win. QED.
10 - RJ
Candi can't win. Some people won't vote for her 'cuz she's black. Some people won't vote for her 'cuz she's a woman (though this becomes largely moot if the Dems nominate Hillary, as expected). And she's single, so the Lesbian rumors would kill her with the GOP base, even more than her pro-choice opinions.
Oh, and she's never been elected so much as dogcatcher.
She won't run, 'cuz she wouldn't even win the nomination. QED.
11 - RJ
HOWEVER, she might make a decent running-mate for a solid conservative Prez candidate, say, Bill Owens or Senator Allen...
12 - RJ
Now that I think about it, she would make a terrific running-mate for a candidate who was a governor, and would therefore be considered a novice at foreign policy in these dangerous times...
13 - Eric Berlin
RJ - I agree that she'll likely not run and likely get serious VP buzz...
14 - HW Saxton
Unfortunately, Even if Condoleeza Rice
did throw her hat in the ring for the 08
elections this country would NEVER and I
repeat NEVER elect an African American
WOMAN for president. Period. No matter
how qualified Condi is, it ain't gonna
happen.We're not ready(IMO)for a female
Executive Officer much less one who has
some color. 20 years from now, maybe one
or the other, but both... We just aren't
that progressive thinking yet.
15 - Eric Olsen
HW, you may be right but when things do change, they can change very quickly. I think it much more likely that both the color and gender barrier will be broken from the Republican/conservative side - "Nixon going to China" and all
16 - RJ
Eric's got it right, I think.
The first black President will almost certainly be a Republican.
The first female President could go either way, but a Republican is possible, if not probable.
17 - C
Condi is a lesbian. It has been a known fact in DC nad CA since her days at Stanford. She is well known among elite gay circles in DC (including the likes of Mark Foley and Ken Mehlman -- 2 gay republicans). Does not look good for her political future.
18 - Eric Berlin
If it's so well known, C, where's your proof?
19 - Tristan
"Condi would be the 1st president in 100 years to qualify for Mensa" ~~~????????
Uhhh.....
what happened to that guy named bill clinton who just happened to be a Rhodes Scholar........? (as was Chris Kristofferson, by the way...)
20 - Tristan
Condi is gay..?
I've never even seen her smile ............
now~~what if she beacame a democrat and became the VP nominee behind Hilary for President!
21 - Eric Berlin
Good point, Tristan.
22 - Kate
Tristan,
Clinton wasn't ACTUALLY a Rhodes scholar. He studied at Oxford but was not, in fact, awarded the Rhodes scholarship. Oxford student? Yes. Rhodes scholar? No.
23 - Wake
Yes, it would be a hopeful thing in 08' but if she keeps that strong NO answer to the question no one will ever have hope that she would run under any circumstances. It really depresses me to hear that, because i'd be one trying to gather her support on 08'. Now Dick Morris says just dont give up and you can push her and get her drafted but can we really? I'm beginning to become doubtful of any possibility.
24 - Wake
"In May 2005, several of Rice's associates claimed that she is interested in a run for the presidency, but only in draft form." says the Wikipedia. Sometimes its more important as to what a site doesnt mention than actually throws in your face.
25 - Kent
Kate,
Actually, Clinton was awarded a Rhodes scholarship.