Veeps Sweeps

Every four years, I love playing the VP Sweepstakes.

And so the talk is now being walked, if not paraded just yet. You know McCain is bar-b-queing for his buddy ups before having serious sit downs. And Obama? Obama has to wait until he can figure out how to, at once, knock Hillary out AND win her over (her and her millions of loyal and even rabid fans).

Since he can't pick Hillary, McCain (yes, John McCain) would do well to pick...

... Bill Richardson as his running mate. Yep, do the cool crossover thing and put a real dent in the Democrats. McCain might have picked Kerry in 2000, and Kerry seriously considered McCain in 2004, and so a crossover is not out of the question. It's just unlikely. A neighborly Arizona-New Mexico alliance, and Richardson could bring both experience, youth and a darker shade of skin to the Republican side.

Chuck Hagel? A friend and a tough, manly campaigner, also a maverick. For two gray-white guys, they'd make a strong team.

You know, there just aren't that many quality Republican guys around these days. Who would be his best match? Sandra Day O'Connor, but then that is sticking to Sun City a bit much. Newt, back from academic purgatory? Mitt is chomping at the bit, and he is an ingratiating shoe salesman. McCain probably doesn't think much of him and dreads seeing his name so high on the list, right above monkey man Huckabee, who would be cool. I vote for Huckabee to bring the most to the ticket, if a daring crossover is out of the question and Margaret Thatcher turns down the offer.

OK, Obama actually has it easier than McCain does this round. The way I see it, he's got a top three right now, without all this vetting and circling the wagons. Currently, Al Gore tops my list. He's the only person on Earth better for the ticket than Hillary Clinton. She's a runner up in every way to the former VP who knows how to do the job better than anybody.

And then, a few guys deserve honorable mention: Bill Richardson again, though he is a fuddy duddy on the campaign trail, he does have the cred and could bring along some Hispanics, if Hispanics actually matter enough to bring not popular votes but Electoral College votes. Remember, this is all about, not us, We the People, but they, the SUPER SUPER delegates, the Electoral College (and let's hope not the Supreme Court this time). And so the fourth and only other top candidate, I'd say, for Obama, is Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell might put PA in the electoral bag, and he's got clout with the blue collar throngs Obama needs to carry him over the top.