Who's Number Two?

So is Hillary a shoe in for the VP if she wants it? I question whether she does indeed want it, but I think it's a mistake if that's the path Obama chooses to take. Sure, it would be an effective strategy to unite the party after the bruising primaries, but I don't see that Hillary brings much to the table. She's only at the beginning of her second term in the Senate, and as was pointed out during the campaign, she barely has a fraction of the experience she claimed. If she can withdraw from the campaign as a good loser (I probably mistyped--of course she can, but will she be able to resist the temptation to keep fighting a losing battle?) and can set aside future presidential ambitions, she's in a great position to have a long and fruitful career as a Senate leader. Actually, I see her as a potential Teddy Kennedy, but just like Kennedy had to ultimately decide that he wasn't going to keep running for president, so does she. But because she doesn't add that much to the ticket, I don't see how Obama can make such a decision look like it's really his own. It would just look like he's caving, doing what he's expected to do.

But if not Hillary, who? Well, I'm afraid I don't have a lot of good ideas. I talked the other night to someone who thought Bill Richardson was a lock. The timing and--from the Clinton point of view, anyway--suddenness of his Obama endorsement sure makes it look like there was some sort of deal being hatched. But, as we saw during the earlier primaries, Richardson isn't the greatest campaigner, and Obama would benefit from a bulldog in that position. I was talking with some other friends this afternoon, and all of a sudden it became clear to me that Richardson is a much better candidate for secretary of state than VP.

I also discount the various other senators who have been named. There's a long list of unsuccessful senators as presidential candidates (and very few presidents who came directly from the Senate), so a double-senatorial ticket seems unlikely. I particularly frown on talk concerning Jim Webb. He's a strong voice in the Senate, and it would be a shame to lose him there.