Condi's statement indicates that she is
Opposed to Roe v. Wade
Against federal funding
Against Partial Birth
In Favor of Parental Notification
and
Very clear that abortion is not something you want your daughter or friend to go through.
She is clearly in favor of states rights in the matter and giving consideration to women that are victims of rape and incest. Her judges would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Don't get caught up in the battle of a constitutional amendment, that will never pass, and lose the war. An abortion on demand candidate is not the answer your looking for.
I just don't read it the same way. It seems to me that every thing she said is code for 'I do not want Roe overturned.'
Unfortunately, the left's pt of view carries the day in terms of rhetoric about the govt's role in abortion. In the mainstream press, generally speaking, talk of 'not wanting the govt to force its views, or 'favor one side or the other' means that one opposes legislative bans on abortion. Unfortunately, Roe is considered to be the defacto, natural state of things. Why else do you think that polls show Americans in strong support of restrictions on abortion, especialy outside of rape, incest, threat-to-the-mother, and first trimester, yet at the same time oppose overturning Roe -- which makes all of those popular restrictions almost impossible? People hold inherently contradictory positions on this issue.
Now she does explicity say that she supports parental notification, and bans on late-term abortions, but again, all of this is meaningless unless she would be willing to appoint conservative judges. And while you can find judges with pretty much every conceivable mix of views, its also true that most have a pretty consistent approach. Therefore, a judge who supports Roe, will also likely look unfavorably towards parental notification laws and laws against late-term abortions, while an anti-Roe judge would likely have an opposite view.
But I guess it doesn't matter, as Rice has subsequently said that she is not running.
But anyway, I don't dislike Rice, but I have reservations about her stance on social and cultural issues. If she could have a genuine conversion to social conservatism then I think she might make an excellent VP pick; otherwise I'd like to see her get elected to something before promotion to the top of the ticket.