Kate, Garance, Ezra, and Scott all have interesting takes on who the various presidential candidates are likely to pick as running mates. I have no special insights into the thought process of any particular candidate, but I do have opinions about what they should be thinking. Full disclosure: I spent a very brief time doing some work for Obama's campaign as a volunteer. First off, I think the idea that while voters might be ready for a woman or a black man as a candidate they aren't ready for both is just wrong. In fact, I think that it makes more sense for Obama to pick a woman than for, say, John Edwards to do so. First, it reaches out to women who supported Clinton. Second, if voters are willing to vote for a black man it seems unlikely to me they'd decide not to because his running mate is a woman. Third, Obama has, I've thought for a long time, the perfect running mate in Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. She's very popular in a red state, a leader on climate change and, most importantly, she reinforces his message about a new politics (which, whatever it's usefulness in the primaries, will be very important in a general election) because she's done an amazing job of winning over Republicans and transforming the political landscape of Kansas. We can argue about balancing vs. reinforcing vice presidents, but for a candidate whose campaign is so centered around a message about changing politics I think picking a VP obviously meant to bring with him a particular swing state would be disastrous. Clinton, it's true, probably should pick a white guy from a swing state. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland seems to me the best pick. He's an ordained Methodist minister, the popular governor of the mother of all swing states, and a deeply likable person. I worked on a campaign in Ohio when he was a congressman and the respect people had for him was remarkable. For that matter, he'd be a great running mate for Obama too. Of course the big problem with Strickland is that he has only been governor for less than two years and seeking higher office might seem a bit unseemly. --Sam Boyd
