kerry should come up with an 'original' vp

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

This could work if Kerry chose someone with national name recognition.  That's why people were excited about the Tom Brokaw float.

I don't know if there are any military officers who are Dems and are well enough known, except for Clark and Powell (who would be a possibility if he weren't currently in the opposing administration).  As for CEOs, are there any with business records squeeky-clean enough to survive the inevitable press gauntlet?  

The Dem nominee for Governor in Maryland (Kennedy Townsend) tried choosing a naval officer for her running mate in '02 and it didn't work well at all.  She would have been better off choosing a a prominent black lawmaker, like Ike Leggett.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Donald Trump?

Thats an idea!  Trump thought about running for president in 2000 as a Reform Party candidate, though his position sounded much closer to the Democrats than the Republicans.  He proposed a one-time 10% tax on accumulated wealth (over a certain # of million $'s) to pay off the debt!