I doubt he would accept unless the party utterly forced him to do so. I would not want to be VP in the Clinton White House and have Bill lurking in every dark corner molesting interns.

Additionally, he would have all the Clinton sins, 16 years of them in the White House, hung around his neck. Not good.

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I don't think Obama would accept unless taken aside by every big person in the party who he respects and told that he should/must for the sake of the party. And I'm not sure even then. He shouldn't, in my opinion. He can get nicely 'seasoned' without being tainted right in the Senate.

As for who he should select: Joe Biden.

Lots of experience, esp foreign affairs; squeaky clean (he was by far the poorest of all the candidates initially running); not just clean but admirable private life; would be a good running mate and able to deliver sharp (but witty)blows while letting Obama stay above it; comfortable enough in his own skin to be an effective partner - not competitor - as VP and smart enough to work alongside Obama; fully capable of serving as president if the need should arise; best damn photogenic campaign poster in the history of the nation with those two smiles!!!; AND there are a lot of voters that are drawn to both him and John McCain so he would tug back some of those independents and cross-overs. -------- I've heard all the other speculations but none "feel" as good as this combination. Only downsides I can see: no executive experience and doesn't come from an important swing state or very 'different' part of the country. But I do think that the voters nationwide really respect it when someone chooses a VP who is respected and fully capable of being president. (How Nixon and GHWB got elected with their clowns is stilly beyond me.)

Second choice: Bill Richardson, but he and many others are way back behind Biden in my opinion.

As much as I adore Feingold (On Wisconsin!), I believe he can do more good in the Senate.

My pick would be Richardson. He's from a completely different region from Obama, and has a complementary skill set. He'd totally silence reasonable doubts about foreign policy experience, and he can reach out to Hispanics in an intelligent way.

Bloomberg for economics.

Clark or Webb for military.

Richardson for FP/executive experience. Plus Latino vote.

Sen. Jim Webb from Virginia. He has military credentials , former Sec. of the Navy, beat George "macaca" Allen in Virginia as an anti-Iraq war candidate. He can't be called nasty names by the Repugs because his son has fought over there. Could help carry Virginia and as a former Republican he could help with the Indies straddling the fence. He would be the poster boy for ObamaRepublicans and could help foil the predictable "most liberal voting record in the Senate according to National Journal" crap that's bound to be headed Obama's way.