[Bryan]

2) I like Rice, but people here need to get over this infatuation with her as a candidate: she has NO electoral experience; NO money; NO machine. If you think those things aren't important, look at how Kerry has come back in Iowa almost entirely on the basis of his machine.

3) Now, if she somehow were to resign her position; run for and win a (say) Senate seat, it would be a remote possibility. But I think my wife is correct when she argues that before we get a woman pres, we will have to first "break the barrier" with a woman Veep---an elected one, not just nominated like Ferraro.

Every time that something is done for the first time, there will be someone who says, "We can't do it this way! It's never been done this way before! People will say bad things about us!" Jeb is a smart man -- smarter than Dubya.

I think a Jeb/Condi ticket would work. You're right about Condi's lack of electoral experience but this would put her in the VP spot, not at the top of the ticket. And the coup of being the first to put a black person on a major party ticket, AND putting a woman on the ticket, contrasted with the left's constant allegations of GOP racism and misogyny, will tell the fence-sitters a lot about the GOP and the liars on the left.

[LS]

Look, I base a lot of what "independents" think based on my wife, who is very pro-Bush, but is also "pro-choice." (Let's not get into that now). The point is, even she, who loves Bush and likes Jeb, has said, "I wouldn't want to see Jeb run in 08. It's too much like a king." I think you will find that attitude STRONGLY expressed among many Republicans, let alone "independents" and "moderates."

If the nation were divided 70-30 in favor of conservatives, he could get away with it. But not in a nation that is pretty close to 50/50.