Dick Morris: Condi's 'No' Doesn't Mean 'No!'

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that she has no interest whatsoever in running for president. Condoleezza RiceBut Dick Morris, whose new book, "Condi vs. Hillary," makes the case for a Rice presidential campaign in 2008, tells reporters, "Unlike in dating, no doesn't always mean no in politics." "We have always known that Condi does not plan to run and does not want to run," he said. "She is focused on being a good secretary of state as opposed to hoping something higher up on the food chain materializes. That is one of the things that makes her so attractive." "The real question," says Morris, "is would she refuse to run if millions of Americans cast votes for her and she appeared to be on the way to winning the nomination?" Dick MorrisThe architect of President Clinton's re-election victory said the temptation for Rice to enter the race will be irresistible, predicting, "I believe Condi will do her duty." "I believe her commitment to this nation and her belief that events often ask us to go out of our normal path to serve the greater good would impel her to run and to win." Rice's claim that running for president is not "what I want to do with my life," notes Morris, "falls far short of the standard formulation for declining a nomination, which was set by General Sherman in 1884 when he said: 'If nominated, I refuse to run. If elected, I refuse to serve.'" Rice, he said, "stopped well short of that," proving that "in politics, no doesn't mean no."