Biden steps down as VP. Who replaces him?

[Mister Mets]

There are three scenarios he can go with: Elder Statesman, Future of the Party, Hillary Clinton.

An elder statesman would be someone in a Biden mold who would end his/ her political career as Veep. Leon Panetta would have been an obvious choice with his deep resume, but then he wrote a book criticizing Obama. A Senator would likely get confirmed easily, but keeping the seat could be an issue, with an obvious incentive to avoid states where Republican governors can make appointments, or Republican candidates can win special elections. Former Senators like Jay Rockefeller or Max Baucus would also make sense for this reason. Gary Locke has passed Senate confirmation a few times, and could be a useful surrogate with Asian/ western voters. Steve Beshear's a popular red state Governor, and this might make Kentucky's gubernatiorial election better for Democrats by turning the LG into an incumbent Governor.

Alternatively, Obama could pick someone with a bright future in the Democratic party. Contenders would be Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gilibrand. There might be a deal that these individuals would not run against Hillary, or it might be a way for Obama to promote a major opponent to her.

He could also pick Hillary Clinton, as someone with instant name recognition, although that might undercut parts of her campaign.

[Mister Mets]

An outside the box choice would be Brad Henry, the 51 year old relatively popular former Governor of Oklahoma. He was reelected in 2006 with 66% of the vote.

He seems like a useful national surrogate for the Democratic party.