and no one has mentioned Bill Daley, one of the most creative and experienced in the Dem ranks.

From yesterday's Chicago Tribune:

State Senate president Emil Jones, D-Chicago, an early mentor, continues to give political counsel. Obama also recently has sought advice from several seasoned political advisers, including former Clinton Cabinet member and party elder Bill Daley, who in turn has been quietly asking others for promises to support Obama.

"He brings stature and experience," said Steve Elmendorf, deputy campaign manager for Kerry's 2004 presidential run. "He can get on the phone with elected officials around the country."

Still, Daley's role is not yet clear, Axelrod said.  

which means he'd be ineligible.

Also, I finally found that article you quoted. It's from Jan. 2007, not yesterday. link

 

He's comes across as a very savy middle class guy.  He seems very moderate and is a governor of a large state.   And I think many Republicans would fear him the most.  I think your average American middle-aged white male would be politically attracted to his type of character.  His VP nomination would surely have a cascading affect from PA into OH and WV and beyond.  He has old school party ties (former DNC chair) and was a core guy in the Clinton camp, which would surely unite the party.  

Maybe his comment about some in his state not voting for a black candidate during the primary, or something like that, disqualifies him?

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"He'd spice up the election, which is exactly why Obama can't afford to pick him"

He has been perhaps even more impressive as governor of Pennsylvania, given that he has been forced to deal most of the time with a Republican-controlled legislature with as much intellectual wattage as one of those green-friendly dim-lit curlicue bulbs, but without the good intent. Under such conditions, Mr. Rendell has managed to make real strides in energy, the environment, education and economic development.

His entire experience as a politician has been executive, an important counterpoint to the exclusively legislative experience of Mr. Obama.

But calling it as he sees it remains Mr. Rendell's most compelling quality. It can be a crass quip about caving in to people's demands: "If I was a woman, I'd be pregnant all the time." Or a blunt assessment of the economy after corporate suits informed him that they were closing the famous Breyers ice cream factory in Philadelphia to save on costs: "Everything you laid out -- it would make a textbook study in business school, but it is a horror story to hear for the future of our country. ... I'll be a two-term mayor, and I'll get out before the carnage really starts, but what's going to happen to our country?" Or the sheer frustration after being accosted for hours at a public meeting by working-class whites feeling alienated and angry: "This country is really [screwed] up."

The unique role of Virginia Dems, particularly the NetRoots, is to give your blessing to Tim Kaine before he asks for it.

We put him in the office that he will have to step away from to become VP. Let's let him know that we Virginians

1) recognize the synergy, dynamism, and trust that his family brings to the Obama campaign;

2) accept, for the good of the country, Virginia's sacrifice and challenge of handing over the governorship;

3) pledge our energy and renewed innovative efforts to the success of the Obama-Kaine ticket in Virginia.

Don't be surprised to see Jack Reed up there on the big day.  The VP selection process is one of the most secretive aspects of Presidential politics.  Generally, you only find out what the players want you to know.  Obama and Reed are going to spend umpteen hours together on an airplane.

Like Webb, Kaine is too inexperienced and is virtually unknown outside the state.  Kaine doesn't need to be on the ticket to help Obama carry Virginia.

I agree that Obama won't pick Clinton.  He shouldn't pick another Senator (he's going to need as big a majority in the Senate as he can get).

Kathleen Sebelius would be a good choice.  How about John Edwards as Attorney General and Wes Clark as Secretary of Defense?

Can you imagine the firestorm with Kathleen, the woman ahead of Hillary?  I would pick John Edwards as VP and, like you said, Wes Clark as Secretary of Defense... there are plently of Democrats that can be AG... we have a deep nationwide bench there.

I like Edwards, and he is an obvious choice, but he has been fairly clear that he's not interested in running for VP again. You will never know who encouraged him to make that statement.

who would be laughed at by the other 98% of us because of their pettyness.

This PUMA crap is having no negative effect on Obama thus far. He's destroying McCain among women voters.

If Obama doesn't pick a woman, and McCain does.....THAT would be a disaster.

I may grant you that Kaine doesn't have to be on the ticket in order for Obama to carry Virginia, so we're really talking about overall factors of who may influence specific constituencies in swing states.

Sebelius is every bit as unknown as Kaine, so who knows who will poll better in the video testing among the targeted constituencies in swing states. But I'm guessing TK would be a sharper orator / debater than Sebelius. There is just a layer of complexity in his analysis that I haven't yet heard in the limited Sebelius remarks on YouTube.

Besides, the spiritual undertone of the Obama campaign suggests they are going after those constituencies where there are converts to be made. Is Sebelius religulous enough to fit into that strategy? No. In fact, she would be totally ruinous to any efforts to court religious conservatives with her veto of Kansas restrictions on late term abortions.

Catholic Kaine is personally opposed to abortion and the death penalty, but is committed to upholding the law. What I'm saying is that Obama's already got Sebelius constituents in his column; progressive Sebelius doesn't put as many potential supporters into play as devoutly Catholic Kaine.

I can guarantee right or wrong, so many women who supported Hillary would see this as the ultimate insult.  Obama needs their support and this won't do it.

I would not have expected that.  

My hunch is that Obama is going to pick a Westerner.  I think he is really eager to expand the Democratic map and sees his chance to do so.

Sebelius is very much in the running.  She's had enough appeal to moderates to split and basically incapacitate Kansas's Republican party -- something Obama would like to have on his side.

And I personally think that any Hillary supporter who would vote against Obama because he put a woman on the ticket does not deserve to be called a feminist, a Democrat or a progressive.  The idea that Obama ought to discriminate against women in his hiring selections is both outrageous and insulting.

I certainly don't feel that way, but I suspect many women who call themselves strong Hillary supporters do.  If that's true (and keeping in mind John McCain is heavily courting them for some reason) they certainly don't care about being called a Democrat or progressive.  And whether you or I think they are feminists doesn't really matter--I'm sure they think so. They are an important voting block and they want to see someone they feel has earned it.

I will go back to a point I made in earler conversations here.  Aside from people on this and other political sites, I think if you asked the average citizen what they thought about Sebelius as a VP choice the answer would be the same:  who?

At the risk of sounding like I'm boasting, I correctly called the contest between Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama in 2007 so now let me go double or nothing with the VP spot.  

Obama will solidify leads in NM and Colorado, close the gap in AZ and will make a selection that will put Texas in the Lean Obama category and may actually flip Texas for the Democratic Party - when he selects...

Bill Richardson for VP.  

Thank you, Thank you, I'll be here all weekend.