I am kind of surprised at the continued talk about having Condi Rice run as VP with John McCain. Why? Is Rice so popular? Does she have such a huge following? This is a person who is so integrally involved in the George W. Bush administration, first as National Security Advisor, then as Secretary of State, that you might as well have Bush himself run as McCain’s VP. Nothing would signal a stark continuation of Bush’s policies and failures more than having Rice on the ticket–and along with that, the administration’s sub-30% popularity rating. Rice’s personal ratings have been higher–around the 50% mark–but that may well reflect her image relative to the Bush administration, rather than viewed from a perspective of her having come from that administration.

Coming on as a VP candidate, Rice would carry with her the baggage of Bush, like a defense witness opening the door to a whole new line of questioning. Obama would be able to smash such a ticket with every failure of the past eight years. Rice would really not add anything substantial–McCain is already supposed to have (note: supposed to have, not actually have) foreign policy and security credentials that Rice would not be able to add to.Whatever positives she brings in experience are more than dragged down by the heavy debacles of the past two terms; Rice has no sterling accomplishments to glide on, nothing that makes her stand out except her experience. And if Obama wins the nomination, then he’ll have shown that claims of experience are not enough to turn the trick.

So why, again and again and again, does Rice’s name come up in conservative circles above anyone else’s? The answer, of course, is so blindingly obvious that one really does not have to say it. Republicans have been trying to paint the Obama campaign in racial terms, claiming that his color is really the only important thing about him. When it comes down to it, that’s simply the way they think… and it shows in their enthusiasm for an otherwise unappealing VP choice.