What if Condi Rice were the pick? It won’t happen, but what if Condi Rice were the pick? Well, some of us have heard all the same old tired excuses from sell out Republican leaders for so long, we can tell you now exactly what Team Romney and the GOP would say. These may sound familiar to you as they are frequently used to justify bad candidates and policy.Here’s what we could expect:

I know you all probably will not agree with me, but I think Condi is a strong pick. I am no fan of Mittens, but this pick might bring me over. We need to have a strong position on foreign policy and Condi may make this an acceptable pick for conservatives who care about “Peace through Strength.”

and

Condi is not awful. She was a strong supporter of the war on terror and Iraq, and a friend of Israel. I am told she is personally pro-life and believes marriage is between a man and a woman. I think this could be a strong pick. Look, the key here is winning, and if this gets us over the top so be it. I would rather have Obamacare repealed with Vice President Rice than Obamacare not repealed with Vice President Biden.

and

We’re all on the same team here and the objective is to beat Barack Obama. The President will make the calls. We all know his clear record on social issues. And Condi really is a conservative anyway. The goal is to beat Barack Obama. If Condi can make inroads with women, independents, and blacks to build a winning coalition, then we ought to have her. Our polling says she polls real well with suburban soccer moms.

and

Agreed. I have seen those polling numbers. They are devastating. If Romney picks her we win soccer moms in a landslide. Also moderate Republicans and liberal independents love Condi, and that middle electorate is the block that wins the election.

and

Bottom line is she’s black and a woman and will give us inroads into those demographics.

Now here’s the dirty little secret. Let’s say that the Condi Rice leak was a trial balloon designed to pop so another sucky pick gets it. The expectation will be that conservatives will say, “Hey, at least it wasn’t Condi. We dodged that bullet.” Then, when reality sets in, all those statements above will be used to spin for whoever the squishy veep pick is (excluding those based on gender or race as dependent on the pick).