The speculation surrounding presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate continues to build. Sarah Palin, the GOP’s 2008 vice presidential nominee, continues to keep former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s name on the mind of political pundits, despite the latter having already categorically denied any interest in the nomination. The former Alaska governor, speaking to Greta Van Sustren on Fox News said that Ms. Rice “would be a wonderful vice president.”
“She has much more experience than our sitting President does today,” Ms. Palin continued.
Ms. Palin is not the only voice calling for Mr. Romney to nominate the former Secretary of State. The Drudge Report yesterday announced that it considers Ms. Rice to be the top contender for the nomination, which set off a series of reports, including ones from the Wall Street Journal and The Hill.
Ms. Rice has much to offer the Romney campaign. Her extensive foreign policy experience as both National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under the Bush Administration is a positive, as is her presumed ability to shake up the race and excite voters. Demographically, she is what Mr. Romney is not- black and female.
However, there are drawbacks to Ms. Rice. She has never run for elected office and in fact, has previously said that while she loves policy, she is “not particularly fond of politics.” Furthermore, Ms. Rice, although a key member of the Bush Administration, was repeatedly outflanked by then-Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, particularly during the run-up to the Iraq War. Ms. Rice is also pro-choice, a point that Ms. Palin acknowledged is an ideological difference, but that it was not relavent to the nomination.
“We need to remember, though, that it’s not the vice president that would legislate abortion, and that would be Congress’s role. And we’ll keep that in mind,” said Ms. Palin.
With the Republican National Convention just around the corner in August, the speculation about Mr. Romney’s vice presidential pick is running strong. Tea Party favorites Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Lousinana Governor Bobby Jindal have been mentioned as possibilities. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) have also been considered top candidates by Republican strategists.
For its part, the Romney campaign has been tight-lipped about the vice presidential nomination. The campaign has yet to even publicize when it will announce its final decision. That made The Drudge Report’s story late Thursday even more significant, as founder Matt Drudge has close ties to Mr. Romney’s campaign manager Matt Rhoades, according to the Wall Street Journal’s story.
