I’ve been saying it for months now, ever since John Kerry pulled ahead of John Edwards, that if Kerry is serious about winning, he will pick Edwards as his running mate. It appears now that Kerry is serious.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Democrat, nor am I a Kerry supporter. Quite the opposite actually. I’m going to support our current president, George W. Bush. Let me nip this in the bud now, I don’t feel the need to debate that, at least not for the purposes of this entry. So please keep all comments relevant to Kerry’s choice of running mate.

I do believe though that Kerry now poses a serious threat to Bush in the upcoming election. Kerry is the northern elder statesman with lots of experience and veteran status. Edwards is a young southerner with lots of energy needed to give Kerry’s campaign a big boost as well as get the younger voting contigent interested. They are a fearsome duo to be sure.

It also goes to show how poor the current president’s ticket looks for now and the future. Cheney draws nothing but heat from the media for this ties to major corporations, especially Halliburton. He brings nothing to the table as the vice president, bringing no votes from swing states. He’s also very old, has health problems, and has little or no interest in succeeding the president. In other words, he’s not a good choice from the party. His advice may be invaluable to the president, but he doesn’t need to be the vice to be an advisor.

Edwards on the other hand looks to be the life blood of the Democratic party. He could very easily parlet his experience as vice into a big for presidency in the not so distant future. This, of course, scares no one more than Hillary Clinton whose presidential plans are already self-evident. Deep down, she wants nothing more than for Kerry to lose. Bush’s second term will undoubtedly infuriate a portion of the population, perhaps preparing the Democratic candidate for a landslide victory. Hillary wants to be that candidate. Bush’s lack of a good vice president will also further seal the deal. On the other hand, should Kerry win, Hillary would have to wait at least 8 years for a bid because running against an incumbent in one’s own party is near political suicide. If Kerry wins a second term, Hillary will then have to compete against Edwards as a two term vice president for a popular president (by virtue of his two terms). Again, not an exciting prospect. Even if Kerry lost after the first term, then Hillary would have two major roadblocks in 8 years. The first is going against an incumbent president. The second would be going up against a prior vice president whom already had strong success in the primaries. She won’t out and out say it, but she’s hoping for Kerry to lose.

All in all, this should make for an interesting election.