Prediction: it'll be Obama/Richardson '08

Speculation has been brewing for months and months now, but with recent developments, it will definitely begin bubbling to the surface, especially after tomorrow... Who will be Obama's running mate?

It won't be Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). He's too valuable to put in the veep spot. I like him for secretary of defense in a theoretical Obama administration.

It definitely won't be Hillary Clinton. I can't see her accepting anything in an Obama administration, and adding Hillary to the ticket really would be a departure from his message - Change. Like Hillary or dislike her (and I certainly love her - I just love Obama a whole lot more), she represents anything but change.

My pick, and it's not really a wild card pick, is New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. He has impeccable credentials - a former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., he's Hispanic (and fluent in Spanish), he's a former secretary of energy under President Clinton, and he's been by most accounts a very successful governor of New Mexico.

Picking Richardson would help Obama in a variety of ways. First and foremost, he would be a tremendous help with the Hispanic vote. Can anyone imagine how appealing it would be to see Richardson go into Hispanic neighborhoods and give speeches in Spanish? This would contrast sharply to then-candidate Bush's Spanish II-level press conferences in 1999. (I still can't believe he didn't take more heat for that - he doesn't even speak proper English, yet he was going to try and tackle another? Wow, bad advice.)

And, the other issue that has surfaced from time to time in this campaign - immigration - is an area where Richardson will undoubtedly have a whole lot more expertise than Obama, McCain and whomever the latter picks as his running mate. Richardson has been dealing with immigration issues for a long time in his state, and he is a whole lot more knowledgeable on this issue than McCain. Don't be fooled by McCain's immigration credentials because he's a senator from Arizona, either; big deal - that just means that he delivers immigration sound bites with a nanometer of more credibility than a senator from Kansas would.

Obama would be crazy to not pick Richardson. Hopefully we'll know soon enough. As far as I'm concerned, the fall campaign begins on Wednesday, after Obama has all but sewn up the nomination (if he actually hasn't done so).

Obama would be very wise to choose a running mate early and not wait until the convention. A summer barnstorming tour of the country by Obama and his running mate would be a very good thing, indeed.

For now, we can only watch, wait, wonder and speculate ;o) I just hope it isn't Hillary - it would be the wrong running mate for all the wrong reasons.