Sherrod Brown, Julian Castro, Kristen Gillibrand

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

Brown and Gillibrand, in that order, is the best pairing.  It's one of the more credible pairings I can think of, short of a ticket with Biden and/or Sanders on it.   

The caliber of Democratic contenders is getting near that of the 1988 "Seven Dwarfs".  They weren't a bad lot, but they reflected the thin bench of Presidential hopefuls the Democrats had at that time.  And it would have been even worse in 1992; they had Paul Tsongas and Jerry Brown, guys who were has-beens giving Bill Clinton a real run for it for a while.  None of the current Democratic contenders have the aura of being Ready On Day One except, really, for Biden.  Being ready right away is key for any Democrat to succeed in 2020 because buyers remorse for electing someone with NO government experience has GOT to be an effective theme if Trump is to go.  That is why I don't believe that the Cory Bookers, Kamala Harrises, Julian Castros, and a number of others named here have a realistic shot barring the mother of all economic turndowns.