Picking the right accessory.  This is DR.

This is going to be the political discussion of the next three months leading up to the conventions.  Who should be the vice president.

Except this year the candidates are not looking for a vice president so much as an accessory - the tie that sets off the shirt.

Because even if we do have weekly Town Halls packed with policy discussions, this is going to be an election driven by symbols, and one symbol in particular -- the prospect of the first minority President.  Not only that, the first President with a name that ends with an "A".  So the vice president can't just deliver a certain wavering state, he -- or she -- has to be able to turn heads.

Each party has made a strong fashion statement:  we have the urbane black intellectual versus the straight-talking war hero.  But strong statements can repel as many people as they attract, and so must be properly accessorized by a contrasting statement.

Thus Senator Obama will have to consider a strong military figure or a woman, and Senator McCain will consider a person of non-whitness, or a woman.

It's a delicate dance, because the ideal running mate may depend on who the OTHER ideal running mate is.

And that is where the Republians have an advantage.  Because the deadline for picking a vice presdent is the convention.  And the Republicans convene a full week later than the Democrats.  It is the Republicans -- if they have the patience to wait -- who will have the luxury of picking second.

And that's got to be a little scary for the Democrats.  Just think back to how many times you thought you'd picked the perfect tie, only to be upstaged by a guy with a man-purse.

Now this.