In selecting a running mate, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry was faced with a tough choice. Should he place a higher value on a running mate who is ready to be President on Day One and who he feels most personally comfortable with, or go with someone who moves the needle in terms of actually helping the ticket pick up points? In choosing North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Kerry clearly opted for the latter. Edwards was the only potential running mate Kerry considered who can make a difference, according to national and state-by-state polling.
Some of the movement that we've seen in recent polls--and that we are likely to see in surveys conducted over the next several weeks--is not terribly relevant; in many southern states, the Kerry-Edwards ticket will simply lose by a lesser margin than Kerry otherwise would. Edwards' selection probably won't save Louisiana, where the Kerry campaign has wasted $2 million with little to show for it, and it might not help in Arkansas. There is a chance that North Carolina will be in play as a result
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