The VP Watch Begins

August Prairie will be starting a weekly feature from now until Senator Obama chooses his running mate. Once we get caught up with the GOP world, we'll also start watching McCain's potential running mates as well.

Senator Obama will most likely seal up the Democratic nomination tonight Therefore, tonight marks the beginning of the general election campaign. To mark that occasion, its time to begin the Vice Presidential Candidate Watch. For right now, we'll be watching seven potential candidates:

Governor Tim Kaine - Virginia

Governor Kathleen Sebelius - Kansas

Senator Evan Bayh - Indiana

Senator Hillary Clinton - New York

Governor Bill Richardon - New Mexico

Senator Jim Webb- Virginia

Senator Chuck Hagel - Nebraska

Each of these candidates has plusses and minuses, but the first four on the list appear to be much more likely than the last three. Richardson and Webb have some things in their past that would cause some potential harm, despite their definite benefits. Hagel is a Republican (and a conservative one at that) who would probably not accept the Vice Presidential bid if offered, which is highly unlikely.

That leaves the top four. My gut feeling is Kaine or Sebelius will be the choice for Obama, but political realities might force him to choose either Bayh or Clinton. I personally would prefer Clinton stays in the Senate and plays a significant role in getting legislation through during President Obama's tenure, but necessity might force his hand.

Next week we'll take a look at each of the seven candidates mentioned above, as well as three others that I have left off the list (for now).