And The Democrats Vice President Nominee Is....

Talk about the likely choice of Vice President on both the Republican and Democrat side is beginning to dominate the airwaves. On the Republican side, questions of age, gender, race, and ideology are all weighing heavy. Interestingly, those are the exact same questions being asked by the Democrats. I want to focus on what the Democrats are going to need from a Vice President nominee:

* The National Journal has identified Barack Obama as the most liberal member of the US Senate. He needs a running mate with solidly moderate credentials. It is next to impossible to find a national Democrat who is conservative, so we will keep our expectations modest.

* Barack Obama is one of the youngest people to be the nominee of his party for President. Furthermore, he looks younger than his age. Having a running mate that looks more mature would bolster his ticket.

* A huge number of Democrats are furious over the situation with Hillary Clinton. They see her as jilted by the party itself. Some, I'm sure, are entertaining Clinton as VP, but others still are concerned about the field day the Republicans will have using film footage of the two candidates (Obama and Clinton) pounding each other during the primaries. However, does Obama need a woman to help placate the female members of his party?

* One of Obama's biggest weaknesses is foreign policy experience. We live in a dangerous world and people want mature and decisive leadership to face international challenges. Foreign policy experience on the ticket would be very helpful.

* Obama (like McCain among Republican states) found it very difficult to win in states that Democrats must line up in November. In those traditional Democrat strongholds, Hillary often found herself on top. Finding someone strong in these areas could be helpful.

The list of candidates being mentioned most are Sam Nunn (former Senator of Georgia and an established foreign policy leader) and Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, an enthusiastic supporter of Hillary Clinton who could help mend fences there. Both of these are perceived moderates and Nunn can help with the problem of Obama's perceived youthfulness. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is about the only female mentioned with much frequency and she does nothing to help Obama in some of her biggest weaknesses. There was also much talk of Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. He has a significant amount of foreign policy experience and he serves as a chief executive in the office of governor. However he has not and is not likely to catch on at this point.

So, who will be the Democrat's nominee for VP? My gut still says Hillary is the only one who can heal the divide in the party. Get ready for a Republican field day!

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Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.