Sidekick needed – and as Eartha Kitt once said, “I don’t mean on the phone.”

With Barack Obama wrapping up the nomination its time for the president wanna be’s to go-a-lookin for a VP. (Vice President) I mean whats the big deal about being VP anyway?  What does he (I would say or she but Hillary talked herself out of the running last night) do?   You can’t look at Dick Cheney cause he changed the game all the way around.  I remember when he headed the VP search committee in 2000.  After exhausting all of his resources he decided the only one fit for the job was himself.  How noble of him huh?  Well after hooking his business friends such as Halliburton up and making them even richer than they were before – starting a war, etc. it will probably be a while before any presidential candidate picks such a powerful figure to help him carry out his vision.  But I digress!

Now that the Republican and Democratic candidates have all but been decided, its time to start looking for a trusty sidekick.  You know – the job that no one wants but no one can turn down.  I am only old enough to remember so many VPs.  I remember when Gerald Ford was in office and I actually told my parents he should get another chance before Carter was elected instead.  Mom thought that was hilarious.  I didn’t know one way or the other mind you.  Its not like I was Alex P. Keaton or anything like that.  I was 9 years old and to me it was one white man or the other – and Ford looked harmless enough. 

The last few VPs pre-Cheney were interesting in their own right.  Al Gore stood by an embattled Clinton during the tough times, and after inventing the internet, he ran for president but was too punk to contest Florida like he should have.  He went on however to do great work for the planet.  So he has mostly redeemed himself. 

When I think of Dan Quayle, I will always think first of him being bitch slapped by Lloyd Bentson in the VP debate by telling him, “You’re no Jack Kennedy!”  It was a wrap after that.  Though his boss Bush Sr. prevailed by scaring white folks with Willie Horton ads, Quayle was perceived to be a pi-on. 

Bush Sr. was a VP for Ronald Reagan.  And he seemed like a pretty strong figure even back then.  He had plenty of experience in politics and was far from a pion.   Ron was the right cat at the right time for conservatives and America embraced him.  He was so popular that he could afford to pick a strong VP.  Ron had ‘presence’.  If he was on stage, you were not going to overshadow him.  Period!

But what of this political climate?  You got John McCain who is as old as dirt.   Can’t decide whether he wants to be W, or the maverick senator he used to be back when Moses got the commandments.  I know he is trying to do a dancing act but damn!  He is starting to remind me more of Sybil than anyone else.  I mean if Kerry ‘flipped flopped ‘  then this dude is re-defining the phrase.  Who does he pick?  Certainly not somebody as old as his ass.  But he can’t pick someone that looks so attractive that he/she outshines him.  That does count you know.  Remember Kennedy beat Nixon because Kennedy looked ‘fly’ during the first televised presidential debates and Nixon was sweaty and repulsive to the American people.

Then there’s Obama.  What does he do?  I guess Jeremiah Wright is out of the question.  But he has to get someone that will support his vision, and not make him look bad.  This man or woman has to be clean and hold up fairly under scrutiny.  AND he/she has to be able to hang with if not smash McCain’s sidekick in the VP debate ~ and galvanize Americans.  Make no mistake this is going to be a hotly contested race and as Rakim used to say, there will be “no mistakes allowed.”  If McCain’s VP choice shines more than Obama’s, it’s not going to be good in November. 

Don’t get the posturing you see on TV twisted.  People hem and haw about not wanting to be VP.  But its a very important post; a heartbeat away from being large and in charge.  So who should Obama and McCain pick for their respective VPs? 

****I have a few choice words as to why Obama should NOT pick Hillary under any circumstances.  Log on Friday for that! 

Tomorrow – a special report on the NBA Finals as two historic teams renew an old rivalry.