The Ticket

It's official now: John Kerry has chosen John Edwards for the vice-presidency. I guess a lot of us saw this coming; the way they would giggle and pass notes to each other during the recent primary debates gave it all away. Our sources say the decision was finally sealed on Thursday, when Kerry appeared on the Senate floor and sent this word to Edwards through his aides: "John, would you like to be my vice president? If yes, fly to Boston on Sunday and raise thousands of dollars for me." Now, the die is cast, and the Democrats haven't seen this much excitement since the Clintons went to counseling.

But the drama kept us guessing right to the very end. When the Kerry campaign announced on Friday that it would reveal the VP choice through an e-mail, many of us hardened political scribes decided to camp out in front of the computer until we had a definitive answer. After several Pepsi-soaked hours, the message had still not arrived, but I pieced together all the available clues that had accumulated in my inbox overnight and made what turned out to be slightly erroneous call:



It just seemed to make too much sense. I read that Kerry had ordered up new decals in honor of his future running mate; what other selection could possibly inspire the normally stolid Massachusetts senator to experiment with body art? I was also aware the Kerry team made all applicants undergo a rigorous background check. What better contrast with the secretive Bush administration than to release the results in a streaming video available to anyone willing to share their credit card details? Certainly, "Dick" Cheney would never do that.

But the biggest clue? When I received an e-mail asking how much I would give for "a little something extra to make your woman happy", I just assumed the Kerry people had stumbled upon a whole new fundraising strategy, and who else could drive the point home with real credibility? My bad...next time, I am definitely going to check the headers. Anyway, at least I saw through all that Paris Hilton business; post 9-11, no way would Kerry pick a blonde.

Or maybe I was right all along. Perhaps Lee was the choice but he took offense at being part of a "short list." Or perhaps Kerry was afraid of being overshadowed. But that's water under the bridge. All I can say now is:

Kerry/Edwards '04/Edwards/Lee '12!