Quotes of the Day

Picking a running mate is a tough political dating game, and John Kerry may get hitched early. Here are some top contenders.

Dick Gephardt
The Missouri Congressman has mastered the attack-dog role, having spent the past year calling Bush a "miserable failure." He could swing his home state into Kerry's column and fire up union supporters. But he's the epitome of an Old Democrat, and if Bush is attacking Kerry's 19 years in Washington, what would he do with Gephardt's 28? Also, what happened to that union support in Iowa?

Evan Bayh
The Indiana Senator and former Governor might not carry his conservative home state but could help in neighboring Ohio, a key swing state with 20 Electoral College votes. The boyish-looking moderate is not a fireball, though. A Kerry-Bayh ticket could be dull and duller

Bob Kerrey
A decorated Vietnam vet like Kerry, the former Nebraska Senator would add more medals to the ticket. Still, Kerrey is an outspoken independent who could have trouble staying on message. His running would revive accusations he deliberately shot civilians in Vietnam

Tom Vilsack
Iowa's first Democratic Governor in 30 years, Vilsack could deliver a swing state and add Midwestern appeal to the ticket. He's pretty good on TV too. But Tom who? Vilsack is an unknown outside his state, and his two terms have been marred by tough times and budget troubles

John Edwards
The North Carolina Senator impressed a lot of Democrats during the primaries with his ability to connect with voters. That could mitigate Kerry's stiffness. But even "tawkin' like thiiis," he has little hope of winning Southern states for Kerry — not even his home state, where he would have faced a tough re-election fight. And Kerry has concerns about Edwards' limited experience in government

Bill Richardson
He's the Governor of New Mexico, which Gore won by fewer than 400 votes, and he has foreign-policy expertise, particularly on North Korea, having served as Bill Clinton's U.N. ambassador. He's a moderate who cut taxes, he's Hispanic, and he's fluent en espanol — not Bush's Tex-Mex version either. But he's known for being too fond of the spotlight and had a troubled term as Energy Secretary under Clinton. Remember Wen Ho Lee?

Maybe...
JOHN MCCAIN

The Dems' favorite Republican seemed to flirt with the idea for about seven hours, perhaps just to tweak Bush

Hillary Clinton
Does this race need to be more polarizing? She has said no repeatedly. But what about Bill?

Tom Brokaw
A Wall Street Journal op-ed nominated the NBC anchor. But political rookies haven't done well in this campaign

• Mitch Frank