So who do you think should be the VP nominee?

I thought my man John Edwards was triumphant in last night's debate, as did most others, and whether Hillary has peaked or not is a conversation for another day.

For today let's speculate idly about who might be on the undercard for various candidates Republican and Democratic.

Hillary could pick Obama or Tom Vilsack or Evan Bayh and be just fine, but I think she takes Bill Richardson, or even better for her, Wesley Clark. He just solves a lot of her negatives by being a white military Southern gentleman.

Obama almost has to pick a white guy with "gravitas" (see Dick Cheney 2000) which likewise suggests Clark, or perhaps Biden or Dodd. Two senators brings up a lot of bad memories from the past two cycles, though, so look for a heavyweight like Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania (no pun intended, Governor). But Barack sort of needs someone from the South or West also, so perhaps Brian Schweitzer of Montana is a possibility.

Edwards could go in any number of directions should he wind up as the Democratic nominee. He could pick a female elected official such as Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas or Janet Napolitano of Arizona. Both of those red states would be in play along with a block of surrounding midwestern or southwestern states. Or he could select Richardson or Obama to break the GOP stranglehold on the South and Southwest.

The Republicans? They're in a quandary because all of their front-runners have some significant negatives, but my belief is that irrespective of who emerges from the conservative scrum, the winner taps Mike Huckabee as his running mate. Mostly because he's a Christian, but also because he isn't a freak.

Unless Eye of Newt can somehow pole-vault past the "pygmies", as he calls them, and then I think he has to pick another outsider, and possibly a Westerner for geographic balance.

Larry "Wide Stance" Craig is just the man he's looking for.

What do you think? Give me a few fer-instances in the comments.