Rice For President: Will She or Won’t She Run?

Americans who are hoping and praying that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will run against Senator Hillary Clinton for the Presidency of the United States of America in 2008 got very mixed messages this weekend.

The first was more or less an affirmative from the Washington Post where she told editors that she would not rule out running for president. However, in that same article she quickly followed up by saying that she didn’t see herself in the role of someone who needs to be elected by the masses.

Dr. Rice then when on Meet the Press with Tim Russert where they had the following exchange:

DR. RICE: Tim, I don't want to run for president of the United States.

MR. RUSSERT: "I will not run"?

DR. RICE: I do not intend to run for--no. I will not run for president of the United States. How is that? I don't know how many ways to say "no" in this town. I really don't.

MR. RUSSERT: Period? Period? I will not run as president of the United States.

DR. RICE: I have no intention. I don't want to run.

This of course means nothing. Dr. Rice does not have to do a thing until the mid-term elections in 2006 except continue to be a stellar Secretary of State. Between now and then a whole host of things could happen so it would be silly to take what she said today at face value.

There are plenty of politicians who deny running for office only to turn around and do it when the moment is right. That’s part of the gig. If anyone is whispering in Dr. Rice’s ear about how she should play a possible nomination (Karl Rove I’m looking in your direction) she’s probably being told to keep her intentions to herself for now. It would make perfect sense for her to remain focused on her current position until the time and opportunity presented itself for her to shift focus and concentrate on becoming the first black, female president.

One of the major criticisms both John Kerry and John Edwards suffered was that they seemed negligent in their duties as senators while they campaigned for the presidency. People who follow politics are quite sensitive to the idea that their representatives attempt to get elected to an office for the purpose of getting elected to a higher office and then react accordingly. Politically speaking, “the Vulcan’s” as James Mann calls them, are extremely intuitive and apt at planning and maneuvering. If I’m pointing that one can reveal their ambitions to soon and possibly cost you an election, I’m fairly certain Rove and company have realized it as well. For now Rice will say no until the opportunity to say yes presents itself.

I am pretty well convinced that Dr. Rice will be running in the primaries come 2008. However, while she may go through with it and it is absolutely conceivable she could best Senator Clinton head-to-head, I am sympathetic to the idea that she may indeed not want to run. It’s certainly a dangerous but historic prospect for Madame Secretary. It’s a lot to take on and she may be a bit gun shy about opening up her private life the way presidential prospects do, especially after her confirmation hearing a few months back. Senator Barbara Boxer used those hearings to grandstand all over Dr. Rice and that was just to be the nations leading diplomat. If she does run for president, treatment such as what she suffered from Boxer, Kennedy and Kerry will most likely pale in comparison.

For now it’s all just speculation, and speculation in politics can be quite fun. But for those who think that the Russert interview closes the book on a possible Rice candidacy, I would not take it too literally. After all, Jeb Bush has said he isn’t running about a dozen times and nobody believes him either.