Reply #6: Charisma for VP is overrated, I think.

[leyton]

It seems to me that charisma boils down the question of "is this the guy I want in my living room for four years?" Well, the President is the guy in the living room, not the Vice-President. The VP choice can have all the charisma he wants, but who cares? It's not like Kerry will be down in the situation room handling some crisis, and Edwards will be there to back him up with some likeability. It's not like Kerry will be on the stage debating Bush and Edwards will be there with a good spoonful of charm. Charisma is not transferable.

Other things, I think, are. Like experience. Bush did not have experience, so he picked Cheney; it was understood that the latter would be a steadying voice of wisdom in the White House. Gore needed to break away for the Clinton shadow and the perception of having no "values" so he picked Lieberman, the family-values Democrat.

Kerry should pick between Vilsack, Richardson, and Clark. The first two add executive experience and good geography (and in Richardson's case, demographics). Clark adds national security credibility, which Kerry may lack in the eyes of the electorate. These are not matters closely related to the likeability of the candidate at the top of the ticket.