What about Colin Powell?

For Obama, that is. Obama has been wooing him, and Powell is impressed (despite decades of friendship with McCain).

Powell would bring the military and foreign policy experience Obama lacks. Obama would take the maverick centrist label away from McCain by picking a Republican. And what are the downsides? Infuriating a left-wing base that sees (correctly) Powell as being one of the architects of the Iraq invasion.

Yet that would be another positive. The left-wing base is in Obama's pocket. He's their candidate, for goodness sakes. They have nowhere else to turn, and they are not going to stay home in November. Infuriating them just makes Obama look more moderate and mainstream. He's no kooky liberal--just look what the kooky liberals are saying about him.

Powell is black; is that too much change for the country? I think it balances Obama's message nicely: change, but not too much, not enough to scare you. Basically change from the disaster of the Bush era. Is Powell too much associated with the Bush era? Well, he was viewed as a dissenter from Bush-groupthink, along with his deputy Dick Armitage. The fact that this is incorrect does not change the image they have.

Crucially, Powell is basically a democrat. He's for affirmative action, and crucially pro-choice. He would be acceptable to Democrats. Indeed, both parties were wooing him to be their nominee back in the early 90s.

A Zogby poll this weekend has Powell as the favorite veep candidate for voters in both parties.