Condi still not running

Despite the words of Dan Senor, a GOP strategist, over the weekend, as well as a lot of blogosphere energy around the topic, the US State Department today re-confirmed the fact that Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice is not interested in running for political office, nor is she seeking the Veep spot on John McCain’s campaign.

Now, WonderfulPessimist.com has long held that Condi would be one of our top ideal choices for the top of the ticket, but considering she recently was quoted as saying, “It’s time for new blood” in the GOP bid for the White House, I think we have to respect her wishes and accept the fact that she won’t be running. Seems Condi has her mind on returning to Stanford and her Pigeon Forge cabins (if she has any) once her term in the Bush Administration is up.

Who can blame her? She’s been in public life as either Foreign Policy Advisor of Secretary of State for almost eight years now, and what with September 11 and wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, anyone might be longing for the relative ease of being a tenured professor at one of America’s top academic universities?

As attractive a presidential or vice presidential figure as she might make, it’s time to lay our Condi dreams aside, people, and wish her well. As for who should run with John McCain on the GOP ticket this fall, my favorite choice for balancing the ticket is strong conservative and former Oklahoma congressman, J.C. Watts. Failing Watts, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is our fallback candidate due also to his conservative credentials.

And it may not sound cool to say this, being from Minnesota and all, but the absolute worst choice to run with McCain is Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Appoint him to the Department of Education, maybe… but don’t make him Veep.