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"Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice is set to return to the political spotlight tonight with a speech before the Republican National Convention in Tampa.\nThe high-profile gig further signals Rice&amp;#39;s return to the epicenter of Republican politics after four years of relative inactivity. Up until recently, Rice had appeared to withdraw from public life, preferring instead to stick to her work at Stanford University. &amp;quot;I really don&amp;#39;t miss Washington very much,&amp;quot; she told Katie Couric in a Glamour interview in 2010. &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m really a kind of a west-of-the-Missippi person.&amp;quot;\nPinterestFacebook29 Aug 2012, Tampa, Florida, USA --- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sits down for a television interview on the floor of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman) --- Image by \u00A9 David Goldman/ /AP/Corbis\nPHOTO: \u00A9 David Goldman/ /AP/CorbisBut lately Rice has emerged as a standard bearer for the Republican Party, filling to some extent the vacuum left by former President George W. Bush, who has largely sat out this election cycle. Earlier this summer Rice was floated as a potential Romney vice-presidential pick. And more recently, she has been actively campaigning for Republicans running for Congress, particularly women. According to Politico, Rice has campaigned for or endorsed women in tight Congressional races in Florida, Illinois, and Utah. She also headlined a recent fundraising event for ShePAC, a group that intends to be something of a conservative version of EMILY&amp;#39;s List, the group that nurtures progressive female candidates for public office. (Elsewhere, she was tapped in August to be one of Augusta National&amp;#39;s first two female members).\nUnsurprisingly, not everyone is on board with the Condi Rice comeback narrative. Earlier this afternoon, a group of anti-war protesters attempted to mock-arrest Rice for Bush-era foreign policy including the decision to invade Iraq.\nStill, Rice&amp;#39;s reemergence on the national scene--and her apparent willingness to stump for Congressional candidates--seems like good news, particularly given the difficulty both political parties have had when it comes to recruiting women to run for political office. As EMILY&amp;#39;s List president Stephanie Schriock joked at Glamour&amp;#39;s women in politics panel in New York City in March, &amp;quot;Women need to be asked to run. Men wake up in the morning and decide they&amp;#39;re going to be president.&amp;quot;\nHere&amp;#39;s hoping that Rice&amp;#39;s speech tonight inspires more women to dive into the political fray.\nWhat would you like to hear Condi Rice say tonight?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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