Talk about your Rorschach moments. Condoleezza Rice gave a stirring speech that touched on the necessity of American engagement abroad, a need for education reform, and the true meaning of American exceptionalism.  She talked about transcending a childhood in the Jim Crow era in Birmingham, Alabama to become her nation’s chief diplomat, and spoke hopefully of shaping the next generation for “greatness.”  The speech was such a success that reporters on Twitter wondered whether it would serve as a springboard for a future presidential run:

Is Condi Rice really going to NEVER run for office? I just find it hard to believe. She seems to have got the bug.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 30, 2012

Rich Lowry observed that the start of the Condi-for-VP buzz from Mitt Romney’s Colorado event earlier this year may have been a speech like this:

Re condi, i guess this is what the donors heard at that romney event, creating the vp buzz

— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) August 30, 2012

But you know what Chris Matthews heard during this speech?  Birthers screaming in anguish, or something.  Matthews interrupted Andrea Mitchell to make sure she pinned Rice down on Matthews’ obsession.  Rice, however, wasn’t going to play along:

Translation:Your question is so idiotic, I’m going to do you the favor of pretending you asked me something intelligent and answer that instead.