I've been assuming, as I said a couple of weeks ago, that you're being spun every time it's rumored that Mitt Romney might pick Condoleezza Rice as his running mate. Right now it's Drudge saying that Rice is the VP front-runner -- but it's not just Drudge, as Hot Air's llahpundit notes:
This piece by Bill Kristol published last Friday seemed strange and random at the time, but in light of tonight’s Drudge tease, it looks in hindsight like maybe BK got a tip from someone who’s tapped in and seized the opportunity to look prescient. Coincidentally, Rush Limbaugh mentioned her on the air yesterday too; doubly coincidentally, Peggy Noonan's new column in the Journal tomorrow is all about how awesome Condi Rice might be as VP. I didn’t take Ann Romney seriously when she hinted that Team Mitt was considering a woman for the ticket, but the sudden Condi buzz among big-name Republicans makes me wonder if either something's leaked or if Team Mitt is feeding this to friends who have microphones in order to try to create some advance grassroots buzz for his eventual pick.I'm starting to wonder if this is more than just Mitt wanting to seem like a friend to women and minorities -- I'm wondering if maybe he seriously wants to pick Rice, much as John McCain really wanted to pick the pro-choice Joe Lieberman, not just because Rice will check off the black, female, and foreign-policy boxes he can't, but also because he really likes to think of himself as a g's a guy whouy who's a great friend to those who aren't white males -- and because he thinks Russia is America's #1 foreign foe and Rice is an old Russia hand.
He won't pick her. He wouldn't be allowed to pick her. She's called herself pro-choice, and that's all that matters. But maybe he's begging the party to permit him to pick her. This is totally a hunch on my part -- otherwise I can't explain why there's so much Condi speculation.
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Ahhh, but I see this from a National Review guy:
I hear a few UT retreat attendees (donors, etc.) are stirring Condi buzz. Per people I trust, it's not Boston-driven
— Robert Costa (@robertcostaNRO) July 13, 2012
Rich donors at Romney's Utah retreat? Hmmm -- maybe one of the zillionaires really digs her and is trying to buy her the #2 slot.
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UPDATE: I didn't really finish making that last point. How would a fat cat's money translate into multiple mentions of what the fat cat wants in the media? Would the fat cat merely have to whisper in the ears of prominent right-wing journalists to see his pet idea prominently discussed? Or would cash actually have to change hands? I don't know -- I don't know how these things work? But something's going on.
