With their nominee for president all but chosen and nothing better to do before their convention in July, Democrats have been speculating about who would make a good pick for vice president. The popular choice for the idly speculative is Republican Sen. John McCain because … well, because that would certainly be something, wouldn’t it?

Not only is Sen. McCain in the opposing party, but he ran valiantly in the 2000 GOP primary against President Bush and became even more popular as a result. What a lot of coverage such a choice would get for the Kerry campaign, though serious watchers of politics do not think Sen. McCain would be offered the role. The fact that the story continues to breathe, however, says more about the Democratic Party than its members should like.

Sen. McCain would make a terrible choice as a Kerry administration vice president, not only because his brash personality doesn’t fit being in the background, but he often does not agree politically with Sen. Kerry. The latest liberal-to-conservative vote ratings from National Journal rank Sen. Kerry first among his peers for 2003 and Sen. McCain, 57th – ninth among Republicans. Imagine what Cabinet meetings would be like if the second-in-command regularly disagreed with the president.

Part of the attraction of having Mr. McCain run is based on good intentions. Those tired of the deep split between the parties would like to have someone able to bridge it, and in this the Arizona senator is a good choice. But there is a difference between choosing a moderate member of the opposing party to oversee one area of government where both the president and secretary have broad agreement, as President Clinton did when he picked Sen. Bill Cohen as secretary of defense, and choosing someone who can step in for the president when necessary. Would Democrats be prepared to support Vice President McCain as president after the Kerry administration?

Just a few months ago Democrats were complaining that too many of their party were running in the primary. Hard to believe that they were all such poor choices that not one could serve as Sen. Kerry’s running mate.