Has Gephardt moved into top tier for possible VP selection?

Missouri has taken on added importance in recent political discussions. They have chosen the winner in almost every presidential election for the last hundred years. Bush won Missouri by about 3 points in 2000.

John Kerry has a difficult choice to make. Will he pick Edwards or Clark to help him in the South or will he pick Gephardt to help him in Missouri and the Midwest? He must be waiting for the apple to fall from the tree....and hit him on the head? :)

Then it would be a 49 -1 state landslide for Bush.

Boring and Boringer to lead the country. Don't get me wrong, I respect them both, but the two of them together would be like watching CSPAN 24 hours a day (or watching paint dry-pick your own analogy. Kerry needs to pick someone who can fire up a crowd. IMHO

My best guess is that Kerry has pretty much decided on who he will choose. It will be announced at the convention as the final suprise element of the announcement will only increase the number of folks watching on TV. (That's a good thing and a very smart thing to do). My little inner voice tells me it will be Clark

Not that Gephart is a bad guy or a bad democrat but I just dont see how he strengthens the ticket. His strong support is too localized and they are strong democrats already.

Clark may have some attractive positions and background, but he was a wretched candidate. I'd almost rather see a child play with knives in traffic than see Clark in a debate.

And for a person that had never run for political office, he did great!

I do fear, though, that Clark would hurt the ticket. If he gets picked, I obviously hope to be wrong.

because he is the only person who is uglier than Kerry.
Oh well... as long as they beat Bush, who cares?

Gephardt would hurt Kerry's chances. How do you slam Bush for his guard service when Gephardt was in the guard, too? Add to it Gephardt's boring demeanor and you have less chances for Kerry.

Gephardt ... a very good man on the issues. But he has aged and he could put a three-toed sloth to sleep. Kerry needs a bit more dynamic teammate.

For me it has come down to either US Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, or Wes Clark. I think either of them does the most for the ticket. Landrieu because it is time for a woman, the soccer mom, moderate suburban women are the key to winning for a Democrat - she makes domestic issues the main theme for a campaign. Clark makes strength and patriotism and security the main theme. Imagine a Clark - Cheney debate ... that would be fun. So it depends upon the strategy the Kerry campaign decides to take.

Edwards brings nothing to Kerry, in my opinion. He's a good campaigner, but the reason he didn't do better in the primaries is that there just isn't much there there on issues.

to put a woman on the ticket this time around and that this is too important of an election to gamble with anything. That is how I think the DNC and others are thinking.

and I'm not overly happy about it but Kerry has said he wants someone ready to be president and he respects Geps 30 years in congress and his work for the democratic party--and yes I think that he thinks Gep would help him in Missouri and other midwestern states where the election is likely to be decided.

To me, Clark and Edwards are clearly the best choices with Gep as 3rd. Gep is not exciting, but he will win Mizzou for us, solidify Iowa and help in other Midwest states(Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio) and he won't do anything stupid, so it is the "safe" choice.

But you may be correct, if Gep's ties to labor can help in Ohio and Michigan, he should not be ignored. Those are very important states.

Gephardt personally negotiated the terms of the House bill allowing war in Iraq for Bu$h*.

How could Kerry possibly pick him? It would be a BIG BIG blow to his chances, IMO.

There's a big difference between having a presidential candidate who voted to give authorization on a bad bill versus having a presidential candidate who voted to give authorization on a bad bill AND a VP candidate who CREATED the bad bill.

would help with Big Labor too. The ability to GOTV in labor-heavy states Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania is going to be crucial.

they will vote for the top of the ticket in November. I don't think it will make a hell of a lot of difference who he picks for VP..

Missouri is truly a toss-up state. As a former Missourian, I observed over the years that elections hinge on what area of the state voters are turning out in in large numbers. Get the KC St Louis, Bootheel and I-70 corridor out to vote in larger numbers and the dems will carry the day.

Clark, the dashing general could make some of the angry red areas turn a little pinker, and that would decide the election. Edwards, I do not know how he would affect Missouri, but he is an energetic man with Kennedy's look and Clinton's down home appeal. Either would be a good choice for Kerry. Gephardt would probably give Missouri to the dems, but beyond that, I think Gephardt would be like concrete overshoes on a floundering Kerry.

Here's the deal folks: Kerry needs some energy and charisma in his campaign: Edwards and Clark have it; Gephardt does not.