[TonyB06]

While obviously a talented and accomplished professional on the world stage, Rice doesn't help McCain for several reasons:

- Rice is a tie to the current administration, and specifically, to its foreign policy. Most reliable polling suggests Americans want a clean break from the status quo. Why McCain would want such a link to the current leadership is politically unexplanable

- She brings nothing "electorally". Her native Alabama is safely within the Republican camp, and her current "home state" of California, is safely in the Democratic camp in November

- As others have noted, Rice doesn't really bring a core consitutency (Af-Ams, anyone else?) to McCain's side

- (don't have specific cite) but I've read in the past that she's not exactly "pro-life" and has sent signals of at least minimal support for Affirmative Action so long as it stops short of quotas. Neither of these positions is likely to bolster mainstream R support.