I don't much stock in the theory that a vice presidential candidate makes much difference in an election. I mean, Dan Quayle was a vice president.

But sometimes the choice signifies something about the person running for president.

Plenty of folks have pschyoanalyzed the current administration and put forth the theory that Dick Cheney served as a father figure for the Prez. It's possible. It's also possible that Cheney casually mentioned his expertise in cement shoes, and wee Bush caved in.

This time out, the two major party candidates made interesting choices. Barack Obama is famous among folks in the media for his distrust of the press. One reporter (I must specify that this is not my wife) told me, "If you thought the Bush Administration was a closed affair, wait until Obama takes office."

It's possible. The notion of Obama as infallible messiah has dogged his campaign. But he chose Joe Biden as his running mate. And Biden is anything but a shrinking violet. Obama says he chose Biden to serve as something of a truth-sayer--or, at least, someone unafraid to stand up to Obama when necessary. You have to take him at his word. The popular spin on the democratic veep nominee is that Obama needed to have an experienced hand at his side. Perhaps, but Biden is much more than that. He's a partner.

Sarah Palin is anything but. While it's safe to say that any McCain veep--including Joe Lieberman--would have to wait in the security line to get into the White House, Palin has no chance to influence anything in a McCain administration. McCain's biggest electoral strength, his supposed "maverick" streak, is also his worst governing trail. He has a stubbornness and refusal to listen to anything but his own ideas. So he chose someone who will stay so far out of the limelight he won't even have to push her around.

I could write a lot more about all this, but I don't think there's much else to say. These choices define the candidates quite nicely. Obama, for all his perceived prickliness, actually listens when people speak to him. McCain, on the other hand, ignores anything that doesn't correspond to his own notion of reality.

There are clear choices this election. I hope that folks pay attention.

Jon Worley votes for the candidate with the hottest vice president. Most of the time, anyway.