By Brendan Loy
ABC News reports that, according to GOP strategist Dan Senor, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is "actively...campaigning" for the vice presidential spot on John McCain's ticket. Drudge is going nuts with this.
Senor's evidence seems a little thin, though. He cites Rice's unexpected appearance at some sort of Grover Norquist conservative confab a week-and-a-half ago, and... well, that's it. If he's extrapolating that she's "actively campaigning" from that data point alone, I'm highly skeptical.
In any event, I expect we'll see Rice tamping down this speculation, through a spokesperson or otherwise, probably tomorrow. The key will be the language she uses. Will she issue an out-and-out denial? A half-denial? A non-denial denial? (She's already sorta kinda denied interest, for whatever that's worth.)
[UPDATE: John McCain has already issued a non-response response: "I did not hear that [she's campaigning for the spot]. I missed those signals. I think she's a great American, I think there's very little that I can say that isn't anything but the utmost praise for a great American citizen, who served as a role model to so many millions of people in this country and around the world. But as I mentioned to you, we're not talking about the [veep selection] process because it just then gets into things that could easily to spill over into an invasion of privacy."]
If Rice does want the VP spot, I don't see the downside for McCain. She's young, smart, articulate*, well-respected, and obviously qualified to be president from day one. And of course, the benefits in the identity-politics game are obvious; she's the perfect antidote to either (or both) the Dems' "historic" candidates.
Once upon a time, I thought Rice was a problematic pick because she's so closely associated with the Bush Administration and the Iraq War. But at this point, McCain has already tied himself so closely to those things that I don't see how her presence harms him. He's been harshly critical of the Rumsfeld strategy, but unless I'm mistaken in my understanding of the Bush Administration's internal dynamics, Rice is not exactly considered a member of the "Rumsfeld wing." In any event, I think she'd help McCain more than she hurts him**, and tapping her would be a political masterstroke.
*and clean! ;)
**I may, however, be underestimating the significance of the ralcitrant racist voting bloc, which would be left with no major-party options in a race between Obama and McCain-Rice. I'd like to think there aren't enough of these folks (in swing states, at least) to really hurt McCain if they stay home, but I could be wrong.
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