I find Condoleezza Rice incredibly intriguing. Smart, educated, experienced, incredible foreign policy credentials, which Romney lacks.
I know she is pro choice, however, I believe the Reublican base would still vote for Romney with Rice on the ticket regardless. They certainly are not going to vote for Obama.
She is clearly not a "boring white guy." She is incredibly exciting and highly qualified. I know her Bush ties may be a drawback to some, but she is her own person, and would excite independents, moderates, and swing voters.
http://news.yahoo.com/condoleezza-rice-speech-stirs-vice-presidential-talk-140316502.html
“Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivered a 15-minute luncheon speech on foreign and domestic policy Saturday that donors described as electrifying and had attendees on their feet twice,” said Rucker. “One donor said Rice was ‘the star of the show,’ while another said that, if it was a vice presidential tryout, ‘she hit it out of the park.’”
Yes, she's intelligent, capable, and would be a daring, outside-the-box choice for Republican VP. But in addition to being pro-choice (which by itself is a deal breaker for large portions of the Republican base), she's also black and single.
While I have no doubt that that there are large numbers of Republicans for whom none of those are a problem, I expect that a very significant proportion of the base views one or all of them as complete non-starters. I think that picking Rice would easily lead to, say 5% of the base choosing to stay home, which would be devastating, not just for Romney's presidential chances, but for down-ticket races as well.
