Sadly, I don’t think she’s old enough to qualify.
Rather, Jenna Jameson.
I still think Richardson is the best choice. Obama needs a former governor on the ticket. He needs foreign policy cred. Richardson is Latino, but who would know if they weren’t told? It’s not like the guy is Jose Jiminez (sorry, I’m dating myself here); he looks like an Italian as much as anything else. THis means a plus with the Latinos, but not necessarily a minus with the bigots. He’s from a western state, if that matters these days. He’s known nationally. Richardson is youngish, charismatic, but not so much so as Obama, and not viewed as an “insider.” Their policies are reasonably compatible. If the unthinkable were to happen, Richardson would be a decent president.
Yeah, my money’s still on Richardson. I think Obama/Richardson is just an awesome ticket.
It would seem that Hillary Clinton already knows that she is out of the running or else she would have voted with Obama on FISA today.
And now Edwards is making noise implying that he’s take the job if asked? Even though he had previously said he wouldn’t be interested in running as a VP candidate again?
I don’t think so.
Anyone for a pseudo-betting pool on the date of a VP announcement? The Olympics go from 8/8 to 8/24 and the convention starts on 8/25. Does he go before the Olympics or during? I’m choosing during and going with 8/15. It’s my birthday.
I think they’ll both choose before the Olympics.
During the Olympics is unlikely as neither candidate will want to compete with the sports for attention.
But much more than three weeks before the convention is a long lag time and immediately before allows the Olympics to push it right of the news cycles before it has had any run, so any announcement would be made by 8/1 to give it is news cycle run. Remember also that Obama is going to squeeze in his international tour for a week of news cycle or more and that at some point before the convention Bill Clinton will be making some sort of public endorsement and getting a week’s worth of news cycle too. Both of those are likely to happen before a VP announcement is made. And we are already into mid-July. That’s a lot to fit in to three weeks.
Ceding all public attention to he Olympics for three weeks, OTOH? I think not. But he’d need something big enough to grab it and a VP announcement can do that.
I think that’s a good point. And not everyone is engrossed by the Olympics. My biggest reaction is that it will prevent certain shows I like from being broadcast, and cause reruns on others. Neither Obama nor McCain can afford to let all attention go to the Oympics during that time - they’ll mention them in their speeches, especially when the US wins anything, but they’ll go on pretty much as usual. And I think you’re right; Obama will announce his VEEP choice on 8/15, because it’s DSeid’s birthday. 
For those who held out hope Gore is officially not wiling to be VP. Some others have removed themselves as well. Where are we now in the Veepstakes?
Well in the “Is McCain forked?” thread I posted my reasoning that McCain needs both Ohio and either Colorado or New Mexico (along with keeping all of those that currently even lean his way and winning both the Rasmussen rated toss-ups to win. A tall order but not impossible. How do those left for Obama to choose do in preventing that outcome? (If a VP can actually help deliver a state or two and is chosen with that in mind rather than say, being a good replacement President or a good part of the administrative team or complementing the narrative overall, or serving as attack dog.)
Edwards has made noise that he’s in. Would he take away a McCain lean in the South? I don’t think so. Help win in Ohio and totally secure Michigan with his union cred? Probably not. But maybe. Look good on a stage with Obama? eah, there’s that.
Senator Clinton? Might help put away Ohio for good and would get Bill campaigning to try to steal one out of McCain’s Southern states. But has well discussed costs as well.
Richardson? Would put away NM and possibly CO too. Possibly. Just not a great campaigner and makes for an “all-minority” ticket, which may be too much for some on the fence.
Sebelius? Kansas itself is now far out of reach and I don’t think she’d bring it along.
Strickland? Has said no.
Bayh? Could pull Indiana out of the red. Might even help with securing Michigan and Ohio some. Could be a bone to the Hillary side. Doesn’t deny interest in the job.
(I still like my longshot Zinni. But Bayh, Richardson, and Edwards have all appreciated on my list as of late.)
And a plus for Richardson is that as a former head of the Department of Energy he is an incredible wonk on energy policy, and energy will be a front a center issue this season. You want evidence? Look at his old Presidential run policy paper on energy.
I just wish he had a stage presence.
Why not? After the protracted primary campaigns, the people are glutted to bursting with electoral politics. We would all take it as a gesture of goodwill if both McCain and Obama made a pledge to do no more campaigning until after the conventions, and kept it.
Some are addicted to nicotine, some coffee, some sports, some oil … and some of us to this political stuff I guess. 
What do y’all think of VA governor Tim Kaine?
So for him you have the advantage of being a boring White guy, Catholic, may be enough to deliver VA (which in that McCain optimistic electoral math would mean he’s need to win OH, NM, and CO out of Obama Lean to pull off a victory), Spanish fluent (can help while campaigning in NM, NV, CO, and even FL), Catholic and working class roots. Pro-life though which I think hurts some … Obama can survive the FISA flap but that might be too much. Bayh has more foreign policy but doesn’t assure IN like Kaine assures VA. Richardson’s resume in foreign policy and energy outshines them both, can secure some Hispanic support (although it seems Obama already has that) and NM, if not CO too, and could probably help campaign in TX - not necessarily expecting to win there but to build the organization to make it more competitive over the next several cycles.
On a slight hijack, why isn’t Richardson out stumping for Obama? If he wants the VP job that would be helpful, and if not it could help with the Hispanic vote.
And making his case for why him.
Been out in public making Obama’s case.
It just doesn’t get much play. Dog bites man. Everyone knows he wants the job.
I think Hillary Clinton as VP could help him win the election, but it would be a Pyrrhic victory because it would make governing harder if elected. Most people on this board don’t want to see Hilldog as veep, but the pundits keep bringing her up.
I recently saw Jack Reed’s name thrown out there. He’s a senator from Rhode Island. I don’t know much about him, but what I do know makes me like him.
My favorite is still Bill Richardson.
I really think that Clinton brings more negatives with Independents than she does positives. From my own standpoint, I would have been perfectly happy to see her in the White House, but I can’t see her getting elected; she is too widely irrationally hated. Even if she could be elected, as VEEP, I think she would try to run things, Bill would try to run things, and Obama would have to spend a lot of precious time stomping on them. They’re all three rather dominant personalities - Hillary would be thinking in terms of a co-presidency in which she was the senior member, Bill would be thinking that he’s the only one who had experience as president, and Obama of course would be the man who was actually elected. Not a pretty picture. I don’t mean this as a reflection on any of the players here; it’s just a bad mix of personalities all the way around. Obama needs a VEEP who recognizes that while he is president, HE is president. The VP may be assigned certain tasks, and advice will be welcome, but ultimately, Obama will make the calls, and will come down hard on anyone trying to make an end run around him.
Reed is my new wildcard/dark horse pick. I have been completely against pulling Senators, no matter who, as the Dems need to increase their Congress numbers, especially in the Senate. However, Rhode Island seems to pick stong liberals fairly consitantly. Should, somehow, a Republican win Reed’s seat, it most likely would be Lincoln Chafee, who as I mentioned upthread is a lot farther left than most Dems. Also there has been speculation that Chafee would try to rerun against, and reclaim, the seat he lost to Sheldon Whitehouse, who from what I have seen, I really like.
RI Sens. Reed, Whitehouse(also a very stong AG candidate), and Chafee; I would be happy to have any of them in any active political position. I also like RI’s track record to fill who ever’s missing spot.
ETA: Sebelius, Richardson, and of course Kucinich are still my favorites for the spot however.
Agreed 100 percent, and I pray Obama picks someone else.
Also agreed. I was sorry my governor, Ted Strickland, pulled himself out of the running; he would’ve been a good pick, and I’m pretty sure could’ve delivered Ohio. Right now I favor either Richardson, Sebelius or Claire McCaskill of Mo. (sp?), although I still think it might be asking too much of the average voter to choose the first black President and the first female Vice President.
These are exciting times, though, and I’m glad to see Obama’s foreign trip going so smoothly.
People have mentioned Obama possibly picking Chuck Hagel as VP, but except for Iraq, Hagel is a solid GOPer. If Obama wanted someone from across the aisle, he should consider picking Chafee, IMO.