Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry has found his own national security advisor named Dr. Rice. But it's not Condi Rice. It's Susan Rice, a former State Department expert on African affairs who's just gone on leave from the Brookings Institution to help Kerry aides Rand Beers and James Rubin handle the international affairs issues that the campaign thinks will build in importance as Election Day nears. Kerry's Rice has other similarities to Bush's national security advisor: She's highly educated, well versed in all foreign affairs, is African-American, and extremely well spoken. Rice says that she's often asked if she is related, but she said this morning flatly: "No." According to her Brookings bio, she has held these roles: Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (1997-2001); Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, the National Security Council, the White House (1995-1997); Director for International Organizations and Peacekeeping, National Security Council (1993-1995).

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