The crisis in Georgia has made me take yet another look at the Veepstakes. It seems to me that Obama has to choose between a heavyweight and a lightweight. I'm not using these terms to say any one candidate is "better" than the others, but to classify them as a typical voter who gets most of their news from television might. So, in this context, a heavyweight is someone who is well known nationally, while a lightweight is someone relatively unknown.
Here's how they split out for me (not in any particular order):
Heavyweights
Joe Biden
Wesley Clark
Lightweights
Kathleen Sebelius
Evan Bayh
Tim Kaine
We have no way of knowing which of these candidates would make the best VP or President (if necessary). Obama surely has some idea of who makes the best partner for him.
Personally, I think he's got to go with a heavyweight. The last lightweight on a winning ticket was Dan Quayle, but the guy at the head of the ticket had the longest resume in Washington and was the sitting VP. Mondale was not exactly a household name in '76, but then again, President Gerald Ford was pretty much a lightweight himself.
In this three o'clock in the morning phone call world, the average voter has no idea how Sebelius, Bayh, or Kaine would handle the challenge. Biden or Clark would instill a level of confidence. In fact, Clark outranked McCain in the armed forces, and Biden outranked him in the Senate.
In the coming debate between the VP nominees, they will surely be asked why their running mate would make the better Commander in Chief. Clark and Biden could help convince independents that Obama is the right choice. I don't think the responses of any of the lightweights would mean anything.