Hillary's (and Obama's) Running Mate

So c'mon what do you think? Who do you think would be the best running mate for Hillary? And because I'm certainly not ready to rule out other candidates, i.e. Barack Obama, who could be Obama's running mate for 2008?

Stanley Fish over at the NYTimes believes Hillary's got the primary won, so he sets forth some rules for Hillary's choice of running mate (Mind you, I don't necessarily agree with his points):

First of all, her running mate can’t be a woman. But, on the other hand, he does have to be white, or at least kind of white. The pundits keep wondering whether the country is ready for a woman president or a black president; it sure isn’t ready for a woman and a black on the same ticket. Nor is it ready for a woman and a Jew, which rules out Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. On the age question, there is more flexibility. She is neither young nor old, so her running mate could be either as long as the age difference wasn’t egregious.

He also says her running mate probably shouldn't be a senator. And she should pick someone from a place other than the Northeast. So what she needs is a governor or former governor who can tip the balance in a fairly large state that could go either way, ideally someone from Ohio or Florida.

Fish goes on and on for a while offering suggestions but finally ends up with

"So there’s the list – (Mark)Warner, Bayh, Easley, Richardson, maybe Doyle. No one who sets the pulses racing, but no one, at least on the evidence so far, who would be a total mistake. The mistake would be if Senator Clinton decided to get creative and adventurous, but on the record there seems to be little danger of that.

Over at The Opinionator, Tobin Harshaw argues that Clinton may indeed choose an African-American as a running mate: Barack Obama.

Selecting Obama would help ensure strong turnout among this core Democratic constituency — which will help Democratic candidates all the way down the line. But second, if Hillary is the nominee, African American leaders are likely to be excited about the prospect that she will choose Obama. Since Hillary may be seen as the odds-on favorite, people will be eager to see her select the nation’s first black Vice
President.

Harshaw says, though, if Hillary wins the nomination "there's likely to be great disappointment among these Obama fans — perhaps enough to sour them to her candidacy. If she clinches the nomination, she may want to either accept or rule out Obama quickly, to avoid there being any hurt feelings.”

theteach