With every possible person ever on somebody's VP shortlist (or so it seems), I think it might be helpful to review who CAN'T be Obama's (or, for that matter, McCain's) vice-president.

1) A non-party member. All major political parties' rules specifically prevent the party from nominating a non-member for any elected office. This is why Wes Clark registered as a Democrat just before starting his 2004 Presidential campaign. So (at least currently), Colin Powell is out for Obama, and Lieberman is out for both candidates.

2) Someone who's too young. A Vice-President's minimum age is 35 (same as President). This hardly eliminates any potential contenders, since all current U.S. Governors AND Senators are above the required age. It also only excludes 3 congressmen: Adam Putnam (R) of the Florida 12th and Andre Carson (D) of the Indiana 7th (age 33), and Patrick McHenry (R) of the North Carolina 10th (age 32). There's no maximum age for Vice President, although it's fairly likely that nobody's going to pick 84-year-old Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) or 90-year-old Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia).

3) Someone born outside the United States. Sorry, Arnold. Also sorry Florida Senator Mel Martinez (R, native of Cuba), and eight House members.

4) Someone declaring the same home state as the Presidential candidate. The Vice President and President must hail from different states (this was originally to prevent one state--particularly a populous state--from wielding too much political power over the others). So Obama can't pick Gov. Blagojevich or fellow Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, and McCain can't go with Sen. Jon Kyl...at least, not now. Dick Cheney, who hailed from Texas, was able to switch his residency to Wyoming to make himself eligible for Bush's ticket.

5) Someone who's been President for more than a single term, or more than six years if they ascended to the Presidency after a President's death in office. So the only ineligible people would be George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Jimmy Carter or George H. W. Bush could serve...if they wanted to. Also, former Vice Presidents can serve, so Al Gore, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, and Walter Mondale could all serve...if they wanted to.

6) Someone mentally incapacitated. But Dan Quayle somehow made it in anyway.

I have been unable to verify whether or not federal law prohibits a person convicted of a felony from being President, but I have heard that this is the case. Can anyone confirm? If so, sorry, former Rep. Condit.

Any other folks who can't be tapped?

Salientman;

Most of your post is just correct.

I believe Powell has always been independent, and would not be out for Obama. He would be out for McCain because he is appalled by his position on Iraq which he will spend the rest of his life living down. Accepting an Obama nod might help his soul.

Lieberman is on McCain's short list but will not sit well with the Republican base. He is just poised to register Republican anyway. He would be a collossal misstep for McCain because unlike anyone I can think of, he is disliked by both sides. I can't believe he trots him out to events.

I am not sure what you were saying about Wes Clark, but he has established himself firmly as a Democrat with his race for President and his work for Clinton. No problem.

You didn't mention Hagel, but I think his positions on issues other than foreign affairs would enrage the party.

You make my day by mentioning Byrd and Stevens. Very funny.

When Wes Clark ran for prez in '04, he had to switch his party affiliation from Independent to Democrat...which he did just before he announced his bid. I was just illustrating that you can't be a party nominee if you don't belong to that party, meaning that Lieberman (for McCain) or Powell (for Obama) would have to officially change their party registrations prior to being officially nominated for the ticket.

Of course, say McCain did tap Lieberman and he switched his party registration to take the spot on the ticket...then, of course control of the Senate switches back to Republicans. Not that it means much with a lame-duck President, only a few months before a new President, and a Democratic House, but still an interesting possibility.

Darn, I was hoping for another Spiro Agnew! Rod's going to be sharing a cell with his predecessor soon enough.

Stevens is ancient and goofy but look at the upside for McCain. Compared to Stevens McCain looks positivevly youthful and vibrant. Stevens also is a steadfast supporter of drilling in ANWR which should make the oil looby even happier then McCain's flip-flop on coastal drilling.

There's also the toughness issue. McCain and the right feel that they win the debate when it comes to being tough on terrorists. Stevens often wears a Hulk tie and if you've seen his rageaholic tirades you'd hardly be surprised to see him transform into a giant, green, musclebound brute!

McCain/Stevens 2008! They've got age and rage on their side.

progressivebulldog;

Lest we forget Stevens' greatest strength, he was the author of the earmark for the "Bridge to Nowhere" McCain is always railing about. This would give McCain another opportunity to flip-flop, which seems to be his overarching strategy these days.

Clinton, any of them. ;)