A Run in 2008? No, No, No, Says Rice

WASHINGTON —  She got a promotion just four months ago, yet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was forced Sunday to discuss her ambitions for a job that won’t be available for four more years -- and denied that she had any plans to move up to the Oval Office.

During appearances on three Sunday morning television shows, Rice closed the door on a bid for the White House in 2008, saying she planned a return to academic life.

“I don’t have any desire to run for president. I don’t intend to. I won’t do it,” Rice said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I won’t. How’s that? Is that categorical enough?”

“I will not run for president of the United States,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “How is that? I don’t know how many ways to say ‘no’ in this town.”

“I don’t think I even ran for class president at any point,” she said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I love being secretary of State thus far. I liked being national security advisor. And one of these days very soon I’m going to want to return and be an academic again and get back to the California life and to the world of ideas.”

Rice was the provost of Stanford University before George W. Bush tapped her to be his national security advisor in 2000. An avid football fan, she has long averred that her dream job would be NFL commissioner.

Rice is enjoying an extended honeymoon in her new position at the State Department, and her high-profile trips abroad have made her the star of Bush’s Cabinet during the early days of his second term.

This, combined with the Washington tradition of speculating about the next presidential race years before the rest of the country does, has generated a buzz about Rice possibly making a bid for the presidency.

During a meeting Friday with editors and reporters at the Washington Times, Rice described her position on abortion as “mildly pro-choice” and refused to categorically rule out a presidential run.

Also contributing to the buzz are several websites drumming up support for a Rice candidacy. One site, www.americansforrice.com, features a song titled “Condoleezza Will Lead Us” and male models attired in “Condi” polo shirts. Another, www.rice2008.com, sells a “Condi 2008” bobblehead doll.