Drudge has an exclusive up right now, citing some Romney insiders with knowledge of his Veep search, and they claim that former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is the new frontrunner. The scoop:

Late Thursday evening, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign launched a new fundraising drive, 'Meet The VP' -- just as Romney himself has narrowed the field of candidates to a handful, sources reveal. And a surprise name is now near the top of the list: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice! The timing of the announcement is now set for 'coming weeks'. MORE It was Condi who received two standing ovations at Romney's Utah retreat a few weeks ago, and everyone left with her name on their lips. Rice made an extended argument for American leadership in the world. In recent days, she emailed supporters. "2012 is perhaps a turning point for the United States," she warned. "The upcoming elections loom as one of the most important in my lifetime. I'm very often asked to speak about our current foreign policy and the challenges that lie before us. However, we, as a country, are not going to be able to address any of those international challenges unless we first get our domestic house in order."

This jives with what Ann Romney said about Mitt considering a woman, and it would seriously bolster his ticket in terms of gender, race, and experience (Condi was also Bush's senior National Security Advisor for his first term, and if Iran becomes more of an issue, she'd be good to have on hand). Romney has also said that his top consideration is that his second in command must be prepared to be president right away, and there's no doubt of Condi's competence.

On the other hand, Romney was adamant about choosing a pro-life Veep, and Condi's creds on that issue don't fall in line, as she's known to support abortion rights. For her to be the pick, either she's had a fast change of heart, or Romney's commitment to the issue isn't as strong as he claimed. Given that he's already faced heavy criticism for his flip-flopping on the matter, it's unlikely he'd choose someone who would open him to more skepticism on the right.

We'll know for sure in a few weeks, but this little surprise annoucement succeeded in changing the conversation from the Bain non-troversey Guy wrote about earlier, so there's that. And hey, even if it's not true, let's all revel in the imagined debate between Condi and Sheriff Joe...