As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has firmed up her lead in the Democratic presidential race, speculation about her potential running mate is rising - among Republicans!
"Absolutely," said former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani when asked during a recent interview whether he thinks his fellow New Yorker will be nominated. "I believe she will be the nominee and Senator [Barack] Obama will be the vice presidential nominee."
Yes, some people already are talking about Mrs. Clinton as if she were the nominee before a single Democratic primary or caucus voter has had a chance to weigh in. As she has firmed up her lead of as much as 20 points ahead of second-place Mr. Obama in the polls, Mr. Giuliani is hardly the only observer speculating that she'll be the Democratic standard bearer.
But with Mr. Obama as a running mate? With that prediction, Mr. Giuliani expresses out loud what I have heard several friends, associates and news sources say in private in recent months.
In an open letter in the July 23 Newsweek, Anna Quindlen appealed to Mrs. Clinton to "make it your business to persuade Barack Obama to be your running mate."
Since Ms. Quindlen's piece appeared, Mrs. Clinton looks even stronger in national polls and focus groups, although her lead over Mr. Obama and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina is whisper-thin in critical Iowa, where the first caucuses are to be held.
Nevertheless, as voters and caucus-goers weigh their decisions, the prospect of a Clinton-Obama ticket is viewed with approval by some and dread by others.
"Conventional thinkers like to make this sound risky, pairing a woman and a black man on the ticket," Ms. Quindlen wrote. "But ... anyone who would be put off by Obama isn't going to vote for you [Mrs. Clinton] in the first place."
That's a reasonable point, but call me a conventional thinker.
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama might be able to forge an effective campaign partnership with each other, although that's a big unknown.
More important, conventional political wisdom says you don't load up your political ticket with unpredictable unknowns - and, let's face it, there are few factors harder to predict than race and gender.
As a journalist, I'd love to cover the Clinton-Obama team against any comers. Journalism thrives on conflict between feisty players. But considering the public's ability to take only so much change at a time, even in a campaign that espouses change, I doubt that Mrs. Clinton would want to double her risks.
