Obama's VP choice

Now that it's practically a given that Illinois Senator Barach O'Bama will be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, every political junkie's favorite guessing game can start. Who will he pick as his running mate? I see the two favorites being Jim Webb and Bill Richardson.

Webb, a senator from Virginia, is a former Republican, for goodness sakes, who was Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy, thus an attraction to many Republicans and independents who are trending toward Obama. Webb has the military credentials than can trump Republican nominee John McCain and could help the Democrats win Virginia. Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, has deep foreign policy experience and would sew up the Hispanic vote for Obama.

Where does that leave Hillary Clinton? Here's what I would like to see the New York senator do between now and when Obama officially has the nomination locked.

1. Keep on campaigning. It's her right. Until Obama's nomination is secured, she should continue presenting her case to the American people. That's what the spirit of the presidential election process is all about. (Although I am hearing rumors that if Obama and Clinton can work out a way in which the Illinois senator can pay off some of Clinton's campaign debts, she will drop her campaign immediately.)

2. Take a higher road in her campaign. Get off the attack mode. Her race-baiting comments of the last few days diminish her, especially when there are so many other topics she should be talking about. I would like to see her aggressively promote her ideas for getting the United States out of the quagmire that is Iraq, to hear what plans she has for helping the economy and solving the current mortgage crisis and to challenge Obama to publicize his ideas in these areas as well. This is what the American public needs. McCain is taking the stance of being George Bush revisited and the American public must decide whether it wants to continue the policies of the last eight years or go in another direction outlined by the Democratic candidates.