US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the nation would be safe under a Barack Obama presidency and that she is ruling out a shot at the vice presidency under either Obama or Republican John McCain.
  
In an interview with Politico and Yahoo News released Thursday, Rice was asked if she would feel secure with a president Obama.
  
"Oh, the United States will be fine," she responded. "I think that we are having an important debate about how we keep the country safe," she said, pointing to the Middle East and Iraq.
  
"Those are important judgments for the American people to make."
  
McCain has vied to portray the Illinois senator as a dangerous bet for US security given his relative inexperience.
  
During their primary race, Obama's defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton ran a now-infamous ad that questioned whether he had the right leadership mettle to cope with a foreign policy crisis in the dead of night.
  
Rice, occasionally mentioned as a potential running mate for McCain, demurred when asked if she might serve as second-in-command to his Democratic rival.
  
"I don't need another job in government with anybody. Look, I'm a Republican, all right? Senator McCain is a fine patriot and he would be a great president," she said.
  
"But there's something to be said for fresh blood," Rice added in reference to the running mate talk. "And I know that there are a lot of very good people who could be his vice president."