Veep, Veep.

Really like Tim Kaine but he may be too young and unvetted.
Webb's great but can be abrasive as heck.
Hagel's good but too conservative for a chunk of the Hillary supporters.
Bloomberg doesn't rock anyone's socks 'cept his own.
Rendell worked the wrong side of the street in the primary but could bring in PA.
Some folks are talking up the Kansas Gov who has Ohio ties, Kathleen Sebelius.
Pretty wide open. May not even be a politician.
Let's hash this out.
Kaine is young on the national stage and there's "no vetted like veep vetted". In a national campaign a fresh face like Barack doesn't need a another fresh face up and comer. And he doesn't need a potential Tom Eagleton, Admiral Stockwell, or Eliot Spitzer fire to put out.
And I love Kaine.
It is said the act of picking a running mate is the first "presidential decision" a nominee makes.
What, uniting the base? If Dems don't have the fire in the belly for victory then the hell with the whole damn thing. The Presidency never comes easy.
Ask W his election were not cake walks...bag jobs maybe not cake walks.

2000 Democrats were complacent in large measure due to over confidence in Bill Clinton's ability to deliver.
Folks expected to win. Supreme Court-> W winnah!

2004 Bush is weak, the American people are wise...they can see through the Republican manipulations.
How's that working for you? Ohio's Secretary of State W campaign staffer? Fancy that.

2008 Stop expecting to win, take nothing for granted, fight in every state. It's about restoring balance to the union. Pick a Veep who balances toughness and respect. It may seem a safe no brainer choice but those can be hard to pull off.
Again ask W. He's still waiting for his turn as President.
Right Scott.

Let's take another look at potentials.
Governors only please.
5. Bill Richardson(NM)
4. Kathleen Sebelius(KA)
3. Mike Easley(NC)
2. Brad Henry(OK)
1. Phil Bredesen(TN)
How a bout a Phil?...Get to know Phil.
And his 2007 inaugural address. Read familiarish? About five minutes long.


Wager it's from this list?
Ed Rendell? Like'im, but the Hilary support thing is hanging over his head...so he's a casualty.
Gut talking, of course, who knows what numbers, equations, and trends Barack's people are following.
I don't think his campaign fought this battle to hand over too many power chips to the Clinton camp.
The time to cut deals was 4-6 weeks ago.
Hilary as a candidate really smash through the glass ceiling but lost this race the old fashioned way; poorly timed, poorly managed campaign strategy.
Time to end the political hospice that is the Clinton campaign.
If eight years of Bush/Cheney won't unite the party WTFW?

The presumptive nominee needs to be firm then run to win or lose as who he is. That's what Reagan did, do not shy away from the unease in certain segments of the electorate.
Embrace it, acknowledge it, address it and if people sense your not full of BS you'll attract enough swing (R) and Indy voters in states like CO,NV, MO,etc...
People want to make history.
Just an aside...It was not a good performance by John McCain Tuesday night (6/3).
But he has been counted out before this election cycle.
Thursday's (6/5) moves by the Obama Campaign to take charge of the party heading into the summer have been neatly and swiftly done. WITHOUT I may add doing anything but showing respect for Hilary.
Next, hope the No Money from Lobbyists pledge doesn't become a stick that (R) can beat them with.
It's tough to keep ALL lobbyist money out. Plus folks have different definitions of Lobbyist. Teachers, Unions, Environmentalists these groups can qualify as lobbyists as well.
Fighting a thousand little arguments over the definition of Lobbyist can really raise the noise to signal ratio when trying to get the Campaign's Message through.
Finally secret meetings are cool, but only effective if some substantive level of cooperation between the principals gets hash out.