When JFK was president he had his almost equally popular brother as AG to, among other things, go after organized crime. Cam Kerry seems to be more of a background kind of guy so a similar arrangement seems unlikely for John Kerry. But I think we do need another high profile AG to address the concerns of the day.
We need someone who can embody the Kerry administration's efforts to simultaneously fight the war on terror and maintain essential (not to mention constitutionally guaranteed) individual rights. (see insightful discussion here) We need someone who can embody the Kerry administration's efforts to defend the little guy against the abusive practices of greedy corporations and their overpaid CEOs. (Insert your favorite "two Americas" rhetoric here.) We need... well you get the idea.
This AG could, and maybe should, be a popular high-profile dem who would be able to use the office as a reputation-building prelude to his run for president once Kerry's two terms are over. Spitzer of NY has been suggested for this role but he is rumored to have
other plans. I suggest John Edwards instead.
I suggest Edwards because his sunny disposition would be great in this high-profile role. I suggest Edwards because he has the legal chops and has been in the Senate, which seems to be helpful when working with congress. I suggest Edwards because he is the perfect contrast to Ashcroft.
Ashcroft is a nazi-like bootlicking lackey who sweats under pointed questioning by congress and other commissions but still is uncooperative. Edwards is competent, independent and oozes an "I have absolutely nothing to hide so let the sun shine in" attitude. Some would say that the AG needs to have been a prosecutor but who better to cut through trial lawyer BS than another highly successful trial lawyer? (You can insert something about "Four trials" here.)
As vice-president Edwards would probably be unable to do as much for himself as he could in the high profile job as AG. Who have we seen more of and who is in the news more... John Ashcroft or Dick Cheney? Even when Clinton was president Janet Reno got as much free publicity as Al Gore, if not more.
John Edwards is a rising star in the Democratic Party. Why not give him some face time as a do-gooder while giving someone else the VP job who is competent in the requisite areas (national security preferably) but will probably not want to run for president in 8 years?
As a side note, I keep seeing Edwards, Gephardt and Vilsack listed as the three most likely VP choices. If those are the only real choices then it is Edwards hands down. God I hope those are not the only choices though. Vilsack and Gephardt would be almost as bad as Lieberman was as VP candidate.