It is time for Barack Obama to deploy the 'nuclear option'.  The Hillary Clinton filibuster is getting old and as I said in my article yesterday The Nuclear Option Helps Obama Secure the Nomination Obama should select his vice-presidential running mate now, within the next two weeks and put this to an end.

            So who will be the other half of the nuclear combo? 

            Many observers are saying Hillary Clinton should be.  She is unlikely to accept however, and even if she did she would not provide much help for the ticket.  Besides Hillary Clinton would make an excellent Senate majority leader (more on that in a future post, but there is some very interesting stuff floating around there about this possibility, stay tuned).

            If it isn't Hillary, here is a short list that may be similar to the one in Barack Obama's campaign:

Sen. Jim Webb (D - Virginia).  Jim Webb beat George "Macaca" Allen in an extremely tight Senate race in Virginia in 2006.  Webb was actually Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy and he has a son serving in Iraq right now.  McCain quickly loses his edge as a military guy against an Obama/Webb ticket.  Plus Webb can deliver Virginia, a state that seems to have already turned from red to purple and now lingers above the abyss of blue. 

The drawback:  Webb is still new to the national scene and he is a Senator.  Obama will not be able to put the "inexperience" attacks to rest with Webb on the ticket and therefore his campaign may not allow it.  Still, this is one of the most exciting possibilities. 

Gov. Ted Strickland (D - Ohio).  A lot of pundits are talking about this one.  Strickland would be a single-purpose running mate.  He would be there to win Ohio.  After that he isn't too offensive to anyone and is rather bland, but he's safe and the campaign most likely wouldn't have to worry about him too much.  It is possible he could help out with Pennsylvania as well, but these two states, while tough fights, should be winnable without the Governor.

Gen. Wesley Clark (D - Arkansas).  Remember Wesley Clark from the 2004 Democratic primaries?  How about from CNN with Aaron Brown?  Actually, remember Aaron Brown?  Where did he go?  I liked him. 

Anyway, Clark would have the same effect as Webb.  As a Four-Star General, Clark would immediately take away McCain's advantage in military matters.  That military background could pay big dividends in Virginia, the Carolina's and Nebraska, all of which Obama himself puts in play vs. McCain.  The problem is that he has supported Clinton from the beginning, so maybe he'd accept after the convention, but he wouldn't work as part of the 'nuclear option'.

Sen. John Edwards (D - North Carolina).  Conventional wisdom here is that Edwards already was a VP candidate and it didn't work out.  Once again, who cares about conventional wisdom in 2008?  Besides, the Kerry campaign pretty much muzzled him once he joined the team in 2004.  It would be exciting to see John Edwards let loose to spread his message of the "two Americas".  Obama and his supporters will embrace Edwards' message of hope and this would be one of the most energizing tickets of all time.  Sadly, conventional wisdom will most likely overrule this, but that's alright, John Edwards will make a fantastic Attorney General in the Obama Administration.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D - Montana).  I saved the best for last.  Schweitzer, true to his western roots, wears a bolo tie and he genuinely possesses the folksy charm that some people think George W. Bush has.  He comes across as just a regular guy and he passes the famous "you could have a beer with this guy" test.  Schweitzer truly won me over, however, when he had the guts to call undecided voters what they are; uninformed.

Despite his perceived lack of experience, an Obama/Schweitzer ticket would potentially steal 33 western electoral votes from the GOP in the general election while not losing any ground in the east.  With states like Colorado, Montana and Nevada in the blue category, a win in the Democratic nemesis of a state, Florida, becomes less important.

            There you have it, four potential running mates for Barack Obama. 

            Hillary Clinton has been defining this campaign to her advantage for the past month and a half.  It is time for the Obama campaign and its supporters to step up and redefine this race as inevitably Barack Obama's to win. 

            There has been no shortage of hope in the Obama campaign, but now is the time to inject a big dose of audacity, the unexpected announcement of a vice presidential running mate like Brian Schweitzer would do just that.

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