I have tremendous respect for Dr. Rice (I call her "Condi" as a sign of affection, not belittlement) and think she could make a very good president. I'd certainly vote for her. The matter of experience in elected office is one of public perceptions. She has never held elective office and has somewhat limited executive experience. While running a university like Stanford is certainly challenging (perhaps more so as a conservative), it pales to the complexities of running a state, much less the federal government's executive branch. I think a perceived lack of executive experience is one reason why it is so hard for a senator to get elected to the presidency.

I have no idea if Dr. Rice has any desire to run for elective office. Many, many good people simply aren't interested in it, viewing the amount of crap that comes with the job as too much to bear*. She has expressed interest in being the NFL Commissioner (that would be fun!). Whatever she chooses to do with her life, I'm sure she will continue to do an excellent job. She's a very impressive individual.

*After the election, someone (I think it was LJ) asked why, out of a nation of almost 300 million people, the election came down to Bush v. Kerry. I think there are a lot of people in the US who could do the job but simply aren't willing to put themselves and their families through the media anal exam, constant defamation, and overall harassment that comes with high level politics.