I've been thinking off and on about who would be the best VP for Obama to pick. At first, my money was on Ohio Governor Ted Strickland to seriously bring in Ohio's electoral math, but he wasn't interested. Then I very begrudgingly thought Virginia Senator Jim Webb might be the best pick, bringing in VA electoral math, military expertise, and a maverick reputation (despite his craziness). But then he too expressed zero interest.

And now lately, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's name has been thrown around -- and he is very clearly the best candidate out there. He's consistently popular in Virginia, which unequivocally puts it in play, more than it already is. On top of that, Tim Kaine's approach to governance mirrors Obama's promise to break partisan bickering in DC. Tim Kaine is also just a good guy. When Tim Kaine was small-time, I didn't know a single person in UDems who didn't like him.

In other words, all upside and no downside. You might say he's not well known outside of Virginia, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing or even relevant to a VP candidate.

Anyway, here's the parade of other contenders that makes me gag a bit:

Evan Bayh, Governor of Indiana: Let's be honest. We aren't going to carry Indiana, no matter what the polls are saying right now. Despite his closeness to Hillary Clinton, selecting him is also not going to mollify the small contingent of her supporters that are still angry about the primary.

Joseph Biden, Senator from Delaware: Buffoon.

Wesley Clark, Retired General and Former NATO Commander: Wes Clark is actually my second choice if Kaine doesn't get the VP nod. He has a lot of upside with his military experience. But his stage presence is less than great, trust me.

Hillary Clinton, Senator from New York: Some say she'd bring money and her holdout supporters. However, Obama can raise money without her, as he raised $52 million last month alone. And furthermore, her supporters will come home by November, unless we're talking about the racist ones, of course. Even if she does bring something to the ticket that is of value, she also brings Bill Clinton back to wander the White House. And she's hugely divisive to the general electorate. We're not in the primary anymore, folks.

John Edwards, Former Senator from North Carolina: I'm sorry, I like the guy, but he's done after so many strikeouts. He doesn't really do much for the ticket at this point, either.

Chuck Hagel, Republican Senator from Nebraska: I'm not too cold on this one, but I don't think he'd ever accept the nomination. We'd lose a swing vote in the Senate if he were VP, anyway.

Sam Nunn, Former Senator from Georgia: Dude might put Georgia into more play than it is now, but he's kinda nutty. Nobody cares about his foreign policy experience from serving on a Senate Committee.

Edward G. Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania: Crazy and a loose cannon.

Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico: Meh.

Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas: I actually like her, but talking heads say Hillary supporters would flip out about Obama picking another woman over Hillary. I don't exactly see why picking another woman over Hillary is different than picking a man over Hillary. How is a woman somehow worse? Maybe it's just nonsense punditry. Anyway, it would be kind of a shame, because Sebelius isn't a bad choice. But, Kansas is also not in play at all.