Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is actively courting the vice presidential nomination, Republican strategist Dan Senor said.

“Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this,” Senor said this morning on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

According to Senor, Rice has been cozying up to the Republican elite. ~Political Radar

Steve Clemons was one of the first to pick up on Secretary Rice’s political maneuverings, and I was one of the first, at least this year, to ridicule the idea of a Condi Rice selection for the VP slot.  Here Philip Klein and I are in complete agreement for a change.  It seems like a terrible choice to make, but I suppose Secretary Rice wouldn’t be where she is today if it weren’t for a series of terrible choices to promote her to higher and higher levels within the government.  One barrier to another promotion is that voters will get to have a say in whether or not she gets the job. 

Then again, I have some relatives who would be over the moon at the prospect of a McCain/Rice ticket (they like McCain, but they love Condi–it’s weird).  Maybe this is one of those cases where all the people who know a lot about a public official fail to see the attractiveness of the candidate to low-information voters.  These voters probably don’t know that Rice was the worst NSA since the position was created or that U.S.-Russian relations have deteriorated to their worst post-Cold War low during her tenure at State.  Maybe they heard some gushing commentary about her fashion sense and her piano-playing, and that’s all they need to know.  Nonetheless, if McCain doesn’t want to blow his chance at winning the election he will not select her. 

P.S.  Bonus trivia question: who was the last appointed Cabinet member to be named to a presidential ticket?

Update: For whatever it’s worth, McCain heaped praise on Rice when he was asked about this report.  May I also add that the blatantly tokenist argument advanced in support of selecting Secretary Rice is another reason why McCain shouldn’t pick her.  Plus, it seems as if her public denials of any interest in the job are genuine.  On the other hand, her fav ratings are very positive, which suggests that most people haven’t paid very close attention to what she has actually done.  The notable thing about the numbers is that her favourability hasn’t changed significantly over the last three years.  Among Republicans, 77% view her positively, as do 54% of independents.  This is inexplicable to me, but there it is.   

Ambinder says that there is currently no interest in the McCain camp for including her on the short list.