Condoleezza Rice stands by VP comment: ‘There is no way that I will do this'

— -- The popular news aggregator The Drudge Report  posted a story Thursday night claiming that Mitt Romney is considering bringing Condoleezza Rice onto the Republican ticket as his vice presidential candidate. A top aide for the former Secretary of State, however, tells Yahoo News Rice has no plans to consider such an offer.

Rice has previously said she would not consider the job. "There is no way that I will do this," Rice told CBS News in June when asked if she would agree to joining the Republican ticket. Despite Thursday's report, she's sticking to her word, says Georgia Godfrey, Rice's chief of staff.

Rice's public unwillingness to budge could further speculation that the news item may be the result of an effort by the Romney campaign to shift focus away from recent attacks from President Barack Obama's campaign about his work in the private sector or to build hype around his forthcoming running mate announcement.