Condoleezza Rice has played down mounting speculation that she was seeking to be John McCain’s running mate. But the US secretary of state failed to stop the rumours in Washington that she is interested in the vice-presidency.

Dan Senor, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, set off the rumours by claiming during a television interview on Sunday that “Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this”.

She attended a recent meeting hosted by Grover Norquist, the chairman of Americans for Tax Reform and a leading conservative figure, where she was asked about the vice-presidency. Accounts by those present said she did not offer a flat denial.

You have been invited to a conference chat with dAn.SeNoR and GardenGrover. Do you accept? Y
dAn.SeNoR: hi condi.
GardenGrover: Condi… how’s it going…
Condi1114:  HELLO
Condi1114:  ITS GOING GREAT THANKS 4 ASKING
GardenGrover: That’s nice…
dAn.SeNoR: condi, we’ve decided to be proactive
Condi1114:  CAN I JUST JUMP IN REAL QUICK & ASK GROVER 2 STOP W/ THE ELLIPSES
dAn.SeNoR: and put an end to all this vp speculation
Condi1114:  THEYRE REALLY CREEPING ME OUT
GardenGrover:  I didn’t even notice I was doing them…
dAn.SeNoR: uh
Condi1114: UR STILL DOING THEM
GardenGrover:  Wow, it’s like this involuntary… reflex…
Condi1114: OMG STOP
dAn.SeNoR: i can’t tell if you’re being serious or not
GardenGrover:  I’m being totally serious....
dAn.SeNoR: uh
dAn.SeNoR: still can’t tell if this is serious
Condi1114: I DONT SEE HOW THAT COULD B INVOLUNTARY
dAn.SeNoR: so, condi, we wanted to give you this chance to talk with a certain someone
dAn.SeNoR: and see how much you have in common
Condi1114: UR SUCH A CREEP I LOVE IT!!!
Raising_McCain has entered the conference chat.
Raising_McCain: JOHN MCCAIN IN TEH HOUSE
Condi1114: LOL
Raising_McCain: CONDI LETS TALK VEEP
Condi1114: JOHN IM FLATTERED BUT IM NOT SURE THIS IS THE RIGHT STEP 4 ME
Raising_McCain: WHAT
Raising_McCain: GODDAMIT I THOUGHT YOU GUYS SAID SHE WAS TOTALY DOWN
dAn.SeNoR: condi, wtf
GardenGrover: You said you wouldn’t deny that you were interested…
GardenGrover: (you coy vixen...)
Condi1114: EW GROVER STOP IT
Condi1114: I SAID I WAS 98% SURE I WASNT INTERESTED
Condi1114: & THE OTHER 2% WAS ALSO PRETTY SURE
Raising_McCain: WHAT THE HELL YOU GUYS
dAn.SeNoR: thanks a lot, grover
dAn.SeNoR: now we look like morons
GardenGrover: She still hasn’t firmly denied that she’s interested…
dAn.SeNoR has left the conference chat.
GardenGrover: ...
GardenGrover has left the conference chat.
Condi1114: GOD HE CREEPS ME OUT
RaisingMcCain: TELL ME ABOUT IT
Condi1114: U KNOW JOHN
Condi1114: WE DISAGREE ON A BUNCH OF BASIC POLICY QUESTIONS
Condi1114: & I REPRESENT AN ADMINISTRATION U WOULD LOVE 2 ESTABLISH A CLEAN BREAK FROM
Condi1114: BUT THERES SOMETHING ABOUT UR STYLE
Condi1114: THAT REMINDS ME OF MYSELF
Condi1114: I CANT QUITE ARTICULATE WHAT IT IS
RaisingMcCain: I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THE SAME TIHNG
RaisingMcCain: YEAH WHAT IS IT
Condi1114: I DONT KNOW

RaisingMcCain: LOL
Condi1114: LOL!!!
RaisingMcCain: OMG WE JUST SHARED A LOL

Tags: politics, john mccain, conference chat, condoleezza rice, creepy ellipsis use, grover norquist, dan senor