Is she the woman Ann Romney was hinting about?

Ever since Ann Romney’s July 4th TV interview in which she hinted that her husband might choose a woman as his running mate there’s been a lot of speculation over who that could be.

The questions are how much can we read into her comment and who could she be talking about?

One piece I found persuasive is this from the respected commentator William Kristol in which he looks at the chances of Mitt choosing the ex-Secretary of State, Condi Rice.

“Rice wowed the crowd—and seemed to impress Mitt Romney, who was standing beside her—when she spoke in a featured role at a Romney campaign event two weeks ago in Park City, Utah. Rice is qualified, would be a poised (if novice) candidate, and would complement Romney in terms of area of expertise, gender (obviously!), and life experience. Rice offers an unusual combination of being at once a reassuring pick (she served at the highest levels of the federal government for eight years) and an exciting one.

What’s more, while the other VP possibilities have decent but middling favorable/unfavorable ratings (and are mostly unknown), Rice’s favorable/unfavorable, according to a Rasmussen poll , a couple of months ago is a pretty staggering 66-24…”

It’s that final point that clinched it for me – certainly to risk a few pounds. Romney is known to be driven by data and these numbers are emphatic.

Stan James have Condi at 40/1, PaddyPower 33/1 with Ladbrokes at 25/1. I got 40s with William Hill which then moved the price in to 10/1.

Whatever Condi at these prices is worth a punt and I have abandoned my previous resolve not to get involved in this market.

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB