my first choice was edwards also, but if you think about strategy, bob graham makes sense. he needs to win florida and graham gives him that.

on a side note, mccain would be a fun candidate also

Forgot about Graham. He would certainly help in Florida (and recent Florida polls look good for Kerry), but I just don't know that he brings much else to the ticket. His campaign for President never took off at all, and he looked a bit silly at times in the debates and on the campaign trail. Still, he wouldn't be a bad choice. It's obvious that he's interested as he's taken a high profile in recent weeks as a Kerry surogate on national news shows.

I'd like Richardson as my first pick, but he's already said he doesn't want it publicly several times. So I see him as out.

And I have to disagree that Graham is a good pick. He's a terrible campaigner, as we saw in his brief primary campaign. He would probably not help bring Florida; a poll done by the Miami Herald with him as Kerry's veep was no different in numbers than Kerry running with an unnamed veep.

I like Edwards. The only problem I see with Edwards is he's Mr. Sunny. Could he go toe to toe in a debate with Cheney, and be a tough enough guy to win? If he can, why didn't he go after Kerry? Its not like Kerry doesn't have weak points.

Overall, I guess Edwards is still best, given that I'm assuming that my McCain prayers will not be answered. My dark horse candidate would be Rep. Harold Ford, who's a strong debater and campaigner, and a Kerry loyalist from way back. He also has a nice ability to go negative without appearing to have gone negative. But yeah, I know, he's only a (fairly inexperienced) Congressman.

I think that Ford is a year too young. He's a great candidate for National office in the future though (although he IS a blue dog and a bit more conservative than most of us might realize). I think that Edwards could go toe-to-toe with Cheney. Don't forget, the guy has made his case before juries for most of his adult life. I think he could easily find his role as an attack dog as Vice Presidential nominee.

Personally, I think if he is trying to pick a VP that will boost the ticket, he has to pick someone people already know. I don't see how picking a lesser-known person will help him at all, unless it is solely to deliver the state they are from. So that's why I agree the odds are on Edwards.

Has the idea of Brokaw as VP been extinguished? That one certainly intrigues me...

Edwards is defintely campaining behind the scenes for it. I was at a professional event the other day, and they asked that, if we were going to give to Kerry, not to give directly, but through their group, so it would come across as "Edwards" money and boost Edwards' position as VEEP material.

Byron is right. In his legal career, Edwards has perpetually been cast as David versus Goliath and he has NEVER backed down. I would want him on my team - he is a fighter and a survivor.

If I were Kerry, I wouldn't want somebody as slick and flashy as Edwards to overshadow me.

Richardson is almost the perfect choice. He brings geographic and ideological balance. And as a Hispanic, he neutralizes the Bush-Cheney-Rove attempts to mine votes in that community.
And Richardson DOES have a great resume.

Graham would be the end of Kerry. He is an atrocious public persona, and better suited to a position within the campaign/administration where his peculiarities would be shielded.

I would love to have Edwards head-to-head with the Dick, and I think the surge he showed in most primaries in their waning days was a direct result of message over machine. On the downside, the late surge is also due to his lack of national recognition. The name is better known now after the primaries, but his positions are still largely missed. Get his face and "future of America" approach out and the independents will come in droves.