"Political Hottie" or The Safe Choice?

The New York Times's William Safire has up a piece regarding the choice of John Edwards as John Kerry's running mate. The quick-and-dirty version? Edwards is a pick which shows John Kerry's weakness in the race, while Dick Cheney was a sign of George W. Bush's confidence that he would be the one to govern.

Consider Kerry's choices for a running mate. John McCain turned it down both privately and publicly, and Joe Biden didn't want the job enough. Bob Graham might have helped in Florida, but his diary obsession would have generated sustained media derision. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack would have triggered a nationwide "Who?" The serious alternative was Representative Dick Gephardt...In the choice between the Democrat most ready to be president and the Democrat who would enliven a stalled campaign, Kerry played it safe and chose the political hottie, Edwards.

This jives closely with the reaction of my brother who said right after the announcement, "Well, this is the one choice that leaves Kerry blameless. It is the one everyone else insisted he had to make." Perhaps it is a sign that John Kerry would make the safe choices instead of the difficult choices as president, as well. But then again, maybe after 9/11, Iraq, and the hunt for Osama, some of the electorate are tired of making the touch choices.