Kerry picks Edwards: I don't know why exactly he so impresses the pundits; Kerry kicked his ass in the primaries, just as easily as he did Howard Dean and General Clarke. Even with him on the ticket, his home state comes into play only if there is a huge national wave in Kerry's favor; the only states Kerry really needs to focus on in Deliverance Country is Florida and Arkansas. He is also a Senator, like Kerry, so the ticket doesn't exactly play to an anti-insider message. And he made his fortune as an "ambulance chaser"; he was quite good at it, but I can just hear that meme being spread amongst the talk radio brownshirts.

He does bring something to the party, though. His optimism plays well against Cheney, just as Kerry's seriousness plays well against Bush. He's charismatic on the stump, a trait that no doubt led to some his multi-million dollar wins before North Carolina juries. Tort lawyers are perhaps the best defenders of the rights of the little guy out there, which is why the powerful hate them so. His lack of political experience will be a wash; Bush had even less experience in foreign policy last time, and I doubt the GOP really wants to spotlight that. It can be safely predicted that he will do a better job as a candidate than Joe Lieberman.