Veep Poll: Condi Wins!

Mitt Romney’s got some lady troubles. Specifically, he’s been having so much difficulty connecting with female voters that he has had to enlist his wife Ann to speak out on most — if not all — matters relating to women.

Who better then for Romney to choose as a running mate than a woman? It’s almost a no-brainer. And thankfully, voters seem to approve of the idea. A new vice presidential poll shows Republicans and conservative-leaning independents favor former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be Romney’s running mate. Condi beat out the likes of Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie in the CNN/ORC International survey, topping it with 26 percent.

Poll aside, there’s already a slight hitch to this VP scenario. Rice has said she doesn’t want the job, regardless of the impact she could have on the Republican presidential ticket. –TEB

New York magazine:

Rice hasn’t been considered a very plausible contender in the Mitt Romney veepstakes so far, and perhaps with good reason. Rice was a central figure in the Bush administration, particularly in terms of homeland security and foreign policy, which are most prominently defined by the worst terrorist attack in American history and a widely unpopular war, respectively. And if the Obama campaign decides to portray a potential Romney presidency as a retread of the Bush years, putting one of Bush’s closest advisers on the ticket would be a big help. Rice has also repeatedly, and as recently as yesterday, denied interest in joining Romney’s ticket, although that’s something everyone says, whether it’s true or not.

Bush taint aside, though, Rice seems to be exactly what Romney needs. She’s a woman, and, as has been well-documented, women voters aren’t very fond of Romney, even after Hillary Rosen said that mean thing about his wife. (She’s also black, although we doubt her inclusion on the ticket would shift the black vote away from Obama in any substantial way.) She’s obviously qualified and knowledgeable, so Romney won’t have to worry about another Sarah Palin situation. Romney could also use some help firing up his own Republican base, and as the CNN poll shows, they’re big fans of Rice, ill-conceived wars notwithstanding. Also, and perhaps most importantly: Alliteration.

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