The buzz around the political news world this weekend is a report that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is very interested in becoming John McCain’s running mate. In the beginning, before the War in Iraq became so unpopular, she was considered Presidential material. Now the question is: how would she fit in the ticket? Would she have a positive or negative impact, and how much will the nation blame her role of Secretary of State for the war.

There are those who say that she would be perfect because she has the experience that John McCain insists is important for the position. Then there are those who say her involvement with the Bush administration would hurt. John McCain has put the blame for the war on not only the President, but also on members of the administration, including Rice herself.

Condoleezza Rice has years of experience, including being a foreign policy advisor to Senator Gary Hart during his presidential campaign, Provost of Stanford University, head of Chevron’s committee on public policy and served as the President’s National Security Advisor before she became Secretary of State.

She also worked with President George H.W. Bush in various positions including Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Director of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

She has been a strong supporter of the war, at one point going so far as to say that Iraq was lying when they claimed they did not have weapons of mass destruction. At first she declined to testify before the 9/11 Commission, although she eventually gave in. If (and it is still a big IF) these and other issues are brought back into the limelight, then just how much the old issues will matter on a new day remains to be seen.

It is all up to John McCain who the running mate will be, but don’t be surprised if Secretary Rice is among the top contenders. Even though the Vice Presidency is considered to have little power, with the job mainly consisting of presiding over the Senate and casting deciding votes in case of a tie, the choice of a Vice Presidential candidate can swing many a vote.