It's an intriguing prospect, but the idea that Rice actually rises to the top of such a list is deeply troubling. She's been pretty much of a go along to get along/yes-person throughout the entireties of her academic and political careers. I think she'd be totally lost to the point of mental and emotional meltdown if she ever found herself in any position of real accountability.

Not to derail completely, but I heard something recently that Mike Bloomberg is seriously considering a third party bid with $1B of his own cash in tow. That could make things very interesting, to say the least.

Could be interesting, based on what happened in the 2006 midterms with Schwarzenegger, but not a guaranteed victory either -- Dick DeVoss (Michigan)
Lots of data on presidential candidates here.

WP -N.Y. Mayor Is Eyeing '08, Observers Say

On Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, George Orwell, Fox News, and the Republican Presidential Debate

The Pentagon has failed to adopt a 'wartime footing' for promotions (cf. 'war-czar').

a) I'm not sure what this has to do with the Prez race.
b) The war czar is a political (White House) position. It isn't in the chain of command.
c) The Pentagon is surely promoting people like crazy.
d) Huh? The poll is saying that Dems would like Gore, and Reps would like Rice. It didn't ask about them working together.

I have to agree that Rice is more appealing as a theoretical candidate than in real life. She has never been elected to any office. Her standing in polls is a reflection of either projection on the part of Republicans ("We're the REAL inclusive party! We'll show them!") or the utter shut-out of "Bushies" from the 2008 race. Note how often all the announced candidates compare themselves with Reagan. The GOP swings back and forth between Reagan and Bush philosophies on a fairly regular basis and the overall failure of Bush II to a) succeed where it is supposed to and b) gain the support of the country for Republicans 4EVAR means that it's all Reagan right now.

It comes back the the 'war-powers' argument that is defining Bush's second term -- domestic surveillance, Justice Department firings, Alberto Gonzales. A split ticket could help return public confidence in American domestic democracy after 8 years of scandals, corruption, terrorism and lack of progress on environmental issues.

A split ticket could help return public confidence in American domestic democracy after 8 years of scandals, corruption, terrorism and lack of progress on environmental issues.

So could a Democratic presidency.

I've actually come to the conclusion that there's nothing wrong with our system that the electorate can't fix. Most people just haven't a clue how it works. Voter education, please. More civic involvement at local and state level, please.