Which GOP pols, if picked as '12 VP nominee, would become the 2016 frontrunner?

[Averroës Nix]

None. Being the losing '12 VP nominee would weaken, rather than improve, the standing of each and every Republican already established as a potential presidential contender.

If the VP nominee is someone who Republicans like anyway, I think they'll be pretty eager to blame Romney alone. McCain-Palin style.

[Averroës Nix]

Palin was a loose cannon with no self-discipline, no prior experience with national politics, and marginal policy knowledge. And she still came out of the 2008 election beloved by most in her party.

I don't know if she'd have been a plausible nominee if she'd made a serious run, but at least a sizable minority of academics, journalists, and political actors would have considered her either the apparent frontrunner or co-frontrunner. It's hard for me not to believe that a more serious and experienced politician could pull it off.