Some of you are grossly overestimating Paul Ryan, particularly considering the context of his single debate performance and his meager presence on the stump.
Even more interesting would be if the VP elections were during the midterms - elected completely separately and if they had a little more political power, equal in influence to the Speaker of the House, effectively the leader of Congress. Maybe even primaries and stuff too. Who would be elected in 2010?
1990: Ann Richards (D)
1994: Bob Dole (R)
1998: Al Gore (D)
2002: John McCain (R)
2006: Hillary Clinton (D)
2010: Mike Huckabee (R)
Kind of predictable, if I spent more time writing a TL for each primary I'm not sure these would be the people, but they all definitely come to mind as strong contenders during these cycles. Richard riding high after her DNC Keynote. Dole riding the Republican wave, Gore fighting tooth and nail in what was mostly a net positive year for Democrats. McCain is an obvious choice for a prologue of his 2008 run, plus America would look to a veteran in the wake of 9/11. Hillary excites Democrats and leads the 2006 wave; Huckabee, having been the oft-overlooked runner up in 2008, would be a great choice to match the Tea Party furor of 2010.
