by Bay Fang
Just as she thought she was off the front pages, during a lull in her hectic travel schedule, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suddenly finds herself all over the blogosphere.
First, the seemingly endless rumors that she is interested in being John McCain’s running mate.
The latest pundit to add grist to that mill was Republican strategist Dan Senor, who said on ABC Sunday, “Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this”.
He cited Rice’s recent appearance at the weekly meeting of Americans for Tax Reform — a leading organization of Republican insiders led by Grover Norquist — as an example of how she is pushing this agenda with the conservative elite.
Both Rice and McCain have denied this, with McCain telling reporters traveling with him today that he had “missed those signals.” “I think she’s a great American, I think there’s very little that I can say that isn’t anything but the utmost praise for a great American citizen, who served as a role model to so many millions of people in this country and around the world,” he added.
Rice has long held the position that she has no interest in running for public office. “I have always said that the one thing that I have not seen myself doing is running for elected office in the United States,” Rice said in February. “I didn’t even run for high-school president, it’s not in my genes.”Today, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack reiterated his boss’ position, saying, “If she is actively seeking the vice presidency, then she’s the last one to know about it. She plans on going back west of the Mississippi to Stanford when she’s completed her work as secretary of State… Keep in mind, she’s actually on leave from Stanford. She is still a tenured professor at Stanford University.”
But one rumor about Condi that HAS been confirmed is that she will soon be played in the movie version of the administration by actress Thandie Newton, the glamorous British actress currently starring in “Run, Fat Boy, Run.”
Oliver Stone’s upcoming movie, “W,” about President George W. Bush’s path to the presidency and life inside his administration, will begin shooting soon, and due to be released early next year.
It will also star Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as George and Laura, while Bush Sr. and Barbara Bush will be played by James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn., according to the Hollywood Reporter, which first got the scoop.
