With Barack Obama still holding a slight lead over Republican John McCain, the choice he makes for the Vice President in the upcoming Presidential Election could be one of the most important decisions made in recent political history.
Our panel of political betting experts at TheSpread.com broke down the current listed favorites at online sports book Bodog and handicapped the front runners:
Tim Kaine: With current listed odds at 6-1, the Minnesota born Governor of Virginia was the first Governor to endorse Barack Obama for President. Many democratic party leaders feel Virginia is an important battle-ground state that will be in play for the Democratic party this year and putting Kaine on the ticket could add those important 13 electoral votes into the Obama column. Do not forget the fact having a southern white male on the ticket could help get some extra votes in the South.
Evan Bayh: The Senator from Indiana is sitting at 2-1 to become the Vice President for the Democratic Party. Outside of Indiana being a very important state to the Democratic party, Evan could help with those working middle class voters that Obama has failed to bring into his camp as hoped. Don’t forget he is not only from a Red State but was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and can help with getting some of her people to embrace Obama.
Hillary Clinton: What seemed like a dream ticket at one point is sitting at 5-1 according to Bodog. Hillary is very popular among Democrats, but our experts feel there is nothing to gain by Barack selecting Mrs. Clinton. Any energized supporter of Clinton is most likely going to cast a vote for Obama anyway, so there is no gain in other areas that other candidates can bring. Obama needs a Robin to his Batman and not vice versa. Love her or hate her, Hillary is a powerful personality and it is not wise to have someone that could overshadow the main candidate.
After reviewing the field, we feel the smart money should be either on Evan Bayh or Tim Kaine for the VP nomination. Toss Hillary out of the mix, as she would be more of a detriment to the Democratic camp, as a Clinton VP would energize the Republican base in swing states.
I can't see Hillary taking this nod. She doesn't want to risk anything Obama may do hurting her chances next go round.
Would be historic for sure but she is smarter than that I think
I think he goes for the cat from VA. Democrats snagging VA would be a huge for them.