"And in this corner..."

Hallelujah, it's finally over and the Junior Senator from Illinois Barack Obama will the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Senator Obama will face Republican Senator John McCain, Libertarian candidate(and former Republican Congressman) Bob Barr amongst others for the race to the White House in November. The big question everyone wants to know if whether or not Obama will ask Senator Hillary Clinton to be his running mate after their strenuous and sometimes vicious battle for the democratic nomination. I don't think Obama is going to pick a running mate immediately. He'll take some time to give proper consideration to all possible candidates and I don't think Hillary will be one of his choices. Nor do I think Hillary will be interested in running as Vice President. She more than likely has her eyes set on running in 2012 if Obama does not win.

That being said I, like every other rabid political junkie and Obama supporter has their wish list of VP candidates. Mine includes Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, a popular choice, strong of Foreign Affairs who has already been campaigning for Obama in his state. Then there's Virginia's own Governor as well, Tim Kaine, who was a very early and vocal supporter of Obama and has plenty of appealing attributes without the Reagan Administration baggage that Senator Webb unfortunately carries.

As far as other former Presidential Candidates who might be considered for V.P. I think Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut is the best choice. He has tons of experience on both domestic and foreign fronts and is a solid leader. Senator Joe Bidden of Delaware and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson have also been mentioned but I wouldn't be too impressed if either one of them ended up on the ticket. Of course 2004 V.P. candidate John Edwards has already stated that he has no interest in running again, besides he would be a far better choice for Attorney General in an Obama administration.

There are a couple of lesser known Congressman that are super long-shots but I think would be worth a look. I have to be a homer and go with Representative Lloyd Dogget(25th-Texas) my own personal Congressman. He has a solid progressive voting record in Congress and represents the complete opposite of the recent history of scandalized Congressman like Mark Foley, Tom Delay, etc.. who turn so many American voters off to the political process. There is also Congressman Robert Wexler(19th-Florida) who I am a big fan of. He is very popular in his district and has actually ran for re-election 3 times unopposed. Congressman Wexler also has a strong record on both domestic and foreign policy and has been an Obama supporter since the beginning of the primary season. Given the fact that Republican nominee John McCain is considering popular Florida Governor Charlie Crist as his running mate it might help to have some more support in the fluctuating swing state that Florida has become.

150 days until the election. There is a lot more fire and ice to come before it is all said and done, but I am happy and hopeful for the moment. Something that doesn't often occure.