Why didn't Al Gore pick John Kerry to be his running mate?

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

Gore should have picked Jay Rockefeller.  Around 11 pm on Election Night, George Stephenopolous pointed out that to win, Gore needed to carry the "Dukakis Six" (states that carried for Dukakis that had not yet been called.  He carried 5 of the 6 (WA, OR, IA, MN, HI) but he lost WV.  At the time, WV was still a Demcratic state, but Gore's environmentalism gave Bush an opening, and Gore really didn't get the message that he was in trouble there until it was too late.

Of course, Gore could have picked David Pryor (D-AR) or John Breaux (D-LA) or Dick Gephardt (D-MO) and accomplished the same.  Appealing to elderly Jewish retirees in FL or Jewish voters in general is not something that will help a Democrat, since Jews are a Democratic constituency by and large.  Appealing to a Southern Senator in a Clinton state would have had a specific payoff.