Mark Twain once remarked about a man with two sons: One went to sea, the other became vice president, and neither was heard of again.
We have scant evidence that vice presidential nominees influence voters very much. Will possible John McCain voters be swayed by an added choice of Mitt Romney, Charles Crist, Bobby Jindal or any other equally insignificant? Some Democrats yearn for Hillary Clinton’s nomination, envisioning an irresistible union of race and gender politics. An office once mocked as totally obscure now has become a desirable prize.
(UW-Madison professor emeritus of history Stanley Kutler is the author of “Wars of Watergate” and of numerous writings on American constitutional law and the presidency. This column first appeared on truthdig.com.)