It's Raining All Over the World: VP Showdown

As convention season and its unyielding boredom approaches (and with it, mostly inconsequential, yet oddly fascinating vice presidential selections), I think it's time for some Saucy Crosstalk about who should be on the tickets, since Chris Cillizza has posted the final Line for the VP Race:

For Obama, the general sense is that he will opt for a "safe" choice -- a known commodity along the lines of either Sen. Joe Biden (Del.) or Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.). 

A look at the decisions Obama has made since becoming the nominee -- opting out of public financing, reversing course on the domestic surveillance bill, etc. -- suggests a real strain of pragmatism in his thinking that further bolsters the "steady hand" argument when it comes to his vice presidential selection.

For McCain, it's clear that -- all things being equal -- he would like to pick someone with whom he has a personal rapport -- hence the re-emergence of McCain friends like former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and the decline in buzz around former governor Mitt Romney (Mass.).

Cillizza reports this with the disclaimer that, like sorority recruitment chairs, those who know the most typically say the least. But, hey, let's play a quick, modified round of Marry, Screw, or Kill.

OBAMA

There's two lines of thinking here in my mind, one of electability and actuality -- Obama could make a choice that would hurt his chances and hoorah, we're one tiny little step closer to winning; but Obama could also be the president of the United States in January, so maybe we on the right should be a little more long-range in our thoughts. So, you know, gambling time, kids.

Marry: Sen. Joe Biden. All signs are pointing to yes right now, which is good because as Patrick Ruffini noted today: Biden's a boring pick, and he has a huge problem staying on message. Flip side: he also has foreign policy experience, which might come in handy.

Screw: Gov. Evan Bayh. Double trouble here, he's basically a Blue Dog, which could stir some major dissent with liberals; on the other hand, it could serve as a party uniter, and the MoveOn.org cabal has already signed a blank check of approval.

Kill: Well, Jim Webb already did that deed for himself, but failing that, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. In terms of electability, she'd be the far and away winner. This is no values judgment on my part -- like, if Bobby Jindal and Sarah Pallin run together in 2016 or something, I'll be all over that ticket -- but asking the independent voters of America to vote for a minority and a woman, neither of whom were household names five years ago, feels like a lot to handle. That's unfortunate, but we're talking electability here. I get the sense that the whole "another woman besides Hillary?" argument actually hinges on the fact that America's not exactly basking in Hillary Clinton's feminine mystique -- the question's more "any woman and Obama?"

If Obama won, though, we'd basically be sending the Longfellow Middle School Model U.N. team to the White House during wartime with Russia stomping around Eastern Europe.

McCAIN

I think both camps are sitting around waiting for the other to pick so they can play the trump card in response, and moreso McCain's campaign. It's like a little charm bracelet: Pawlenty for traditional, Romney for money, Ridge for independents, Jindal for youth, and Lieberman for the hell of it.

Marry: Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He's solid. Boring, but solid.

Screw: Sen. Joe Lieberman. Appeal to independents, wave the flag of bipartisanship, keep the foreign policy solid as ever. You would not find teeth-gnashing from me over this; policy-wise, other than capital finance, I'm there with John McCain on almost everything. And besides, so what he's second in line to the president -- Nancy Pelosi's still third.

Kill: Mittens. Mary Katharine Ham articulated the woe of Romney: He seems great in theory, just not so much in practice. While I personally would be almost willing to concede the election if we could export the majority of the evangelical vote, the prediction that seven to ten percent of the evangelicals would be lost if Romney were on the ticket, and Huck's distrust, would probably spell major problems for this election.

I'm sure Mike will have some thoughts.