Rice Says She Won't Run for President





WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) on Sunday ruled out running for president, responding to speculation fueled by a recent poll showing support for a Rice candidacy.





Rice told The Washington Times last week, "I have never wanted to run for anything," although she seemed to leave the door open to the possibility.


She closed the door in appearances on Sunday talk shows, telling NBC's "Meet the Press," "I will not run for president of the United States."


"I won't run," she told ABC's "This Week." "I won't. How's that? Is that categorical enough?"


In a poll conducted in February, 42 percent of voters said Rice should run for the White House.


The survey, conducted by the Siena College Research Institute and sponsored by Hearst Newspapers, found that 81 percent of people would vote for a woman for president; 53 percent thought Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites), D-N.Y., should try for the job.