Hubie Brown picks the VPs

Editor's note: Hubie Brown will be our guest columnist for tonight, as he gives advice to both parties on who the Vice Presidential choice should be.

OK, You're Barack Obama. You've got a rift with the Clintons, with women and with blue collar Democrats. You've got 3 choices that make sense for you.

Third on the list for you is a governor of a key state that was a key supporter of Clinton's frm way back. You can't win without this state. This guy has the blue collar persona that you need to win the Reagan Democrat vote. This guy probably was a Reagan Democrat before joining the Clinton team in 1992. Ed Rendell (Governor of PA) would be an excellent choice.

But you could do even one better. The 6th Congressional district in Ohio is true Appalachia. When this person represented the district, the 6th ran from the Eastern Cincinnati suburbs all the way up the Ohio river, past Chillicothe, Portsmouth, Athens and up to the west side of Wheeling. This district, 97% white and a very low income, was won by this person in 1992, lost in 1994 in the Gingrich revolution, but then won the district back in 1996 and continued for four more terms. This person has effectively won these white blue-collar voters, the voters that go for Hillary at an 80% rate and voters you have to carry to win Ohio and, in effect, win the Presidency.

Barack,where is this guy now? He's only the newly elected governor of Ohio. Ted Strickland, the former 6th district congressman, is now the governor and ran Hillary's campaign in Ohio. He could possibly swing Ohio for you.

But Barack, those two candidates don't have the foreign policy experience that you are lacking. The perfect candidate would have governmental experience - maybe be in Washington for 20 or so years - and share your anti-war values. You also have some ground to make up with women. You have GOT to get them back in your good graces after the divisive primary.

You may be asking - if I need a woman on my ticket with plenty of experience, and it's not Hillary, then who could it be? Well, there is such a woman. This woman could bring additional passion and fire to your campaign. Also, she's represented most of the readers on this blog over the last 20 years.

If you truly want to get the feminists back in your tent, and also add experience to your ticket, you should nominate Barbara Mikulski (Senator, MD) as your VP.

Now, you're John McCain. First thing you have to realize is that the current Republican brand is crap. You cannot pick someone that has associations to the current version of the Republican party. So people currently associated with Bush or are seen as establishment Republicans are off limits.

You also realize that diversity is key. You see the split in the Democrats and see an opening - is there a way to capture some of the female vote? There is a senator that can do just that - a Senator with a moderate, bipartisan voting record that shares your enviornmentalist concerns. Picking Olympia Snowe (Sen, ME) would show you are serious about your bipartisan plans.

One problem is that Olympia is currently in Congress, and can easily be tied to Bush. You realize that you also need to carry the conservatives, your base, in order to have any hope of winning. You need to realize that the most popular Republican out there right now among the base is not Bush, Cheney, or any one currently in office - but Newt Gingrich. He had the ideas and the vision in the 90s and epitomized what the conservative movement stood for. Now, you think that a McCain-Gingrich ticket may not work - and I think you are right. But you need to pick someone from that era that has not been sullied by the unpopulairty of the Bush administration.

One bold pick would be J.C. Watts (ex-Republican representative from Oklahoma). He was in a ledership position in Newt's congress before he retired from public office in 2002. He would instantly show that you are serious about your conservative principles while emphasizing diversity.

However, you wonder how that would translate to votes in the fall - you probably can't peel any African-American votes away from Obama. What you are looking for, bluntly, is a woman that is associated with the 90's Republican Revolution but does not have ties to the current brand of Republicanism, and hopefully has some moderate viewpoints to appease Democrats and (most importantly) the media. Does this person exist? You bet she does. Christie Todd Whitman (the ex-Governor of New Jersey) was Governor in a blue state throughout the 1990's, and shares a passion for environmental concerns. She was Bush's EPA director from 2001-2003, but resigned after "having several public conflicts with the Bush administration". Another plus!

There you go. Obama-Mikulski vs. McCain-Whitman. That would be wonderful to see.