[QUOTE=Little Nemo]
On the Democratic side, Obama and Clinton have probably gotten too big to be a VP candidate. They’d overshadow the front runner, even if it was the other. Edwards won’t take it because a second VP run would be a dead end to his career.
Richardson is a strong contender; he’s running a respectable campaign, he’s Hispanic and a westerner so he’s got good balance for most of the candidates. He probably wouldn’t get chosen by Obama though - a Black/Hispanic ticket would trigger too much anxiety.
Biden’s a possibility. He brings “experience” to the ticket, especially on foreign policy. But they might want to save him for Secretary of State.
Wesley Clark’s another contender. Ironically he’s supported Clinton but he’d be a better VP match for Obama much like Richardson’s supported Obama but would be a better match with Clinton.
On the Republican side, I’d have said Huckabee was angling for a VP job earlier in the campaign. He’d shore up conservative credentials for a candidate that might seem to have shaky support from that base. But in the last few weeks, he’s become convinced he can get the nomination himself and he’s burned some bridges. So if he falls back down (and I think he will) the eventual nominee might look elsewhere for a conservative running mate now.
I don’t think any of the main Republican candidates will go for VP. Romney would see it as a failure after being front runner, Guiliani has too much ego to be VP, and McCain is too old to wait eight years. The one exception might be Thompson; his campaign stalled so quickly he may have realized he’s not ready for the lead role yet and accept a VP run to bolster his resume.
Nobody’s going to pick Rice. It’s basically saying “Four More Years of Bush’s Foreign Policy” - not a winning strategy. Allen’s another non-starter; his public image now is “racist throwback”.
I once put forth Alan Keyes as a long shot possibility. The conservatives would love him. And assuming Obama doesn’t win the nomination, Keyes would be a major threat to the Democratic hold on black voters. They might not vote for him but they might decide not to vote against him. And if the Republicans can drive down the Black vote, they have a much stronger shot at winning the election.
Other candidates like Kucinich, Paul, Tancredo, Gravel, Hunter, and Dodd aren’t going to be considered. They didn’t do well enough to bring any major support to the ticket and all of them have got some negatives.
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This is very close to what I was going to post. Your analysis of Huckabee is interesting, although the reason I would argue he would not get the VP spot is because he is such a lightweight on foreign policy experience, and with the current Republican field (except for McCain) I think they need someone with more experience. That and the fact that when he is not talking about Jesus or abortion, to many Republicans he is really not that conservative.
I don’t believe Obama, Edwards, or Clinton would be the VP because none of them really match up well with each other. Someone earlier mentioned Edwards/Obama - I think that’s the worst match between the three of them. Two candidates, one only four years removed from the state legislature, and one who is running for his party’s nomination (and losing) after already failing in the same endeavor four years ago. I know Edwards has his supporters here, but I think he’s a has-been - he couldn’t connect to voters four years ago, and he’s not connecting now. The two of them together, with little experience between them and especially little foreign experience, would add up to one disaster of a presidential/VP team.
Of all of the Democrats, I think Richardson would make the best VP by far - experienced, would help to bring in Hispanic voters and focus on immigration issues, and has a great foreign policy resume to boot. Yes, we all know he has some skeletons in his closet, but so does everyone else.
For the Republicans, I really don’t know who the best candidate. Marley23 mentioned how important it is that the VP balance the presidential candidate, and I agree with that completely. The problem is that the Republicans running for Pres right now are so different, and none of them are particularly strong candidates within the Republican party. Haley Barbour, maybe? Does he have any foreign policy experience? I honestly don’t know who in the Republican party would really step up to this.
