I'm not so sure that a VP who appears more courageous than the President would be unpallatable to the electorate given that they have accepted for the last 8 years a VP who appears smarter.

I certainly agree with Irish, no chance, but what a wonderful and accurate verbal excusrsion he takes us on.  I would add that the ticket doesn't need a(nother) war hero.  When McCain was at the Hanoi Hilton and they offered him  a "get out of jail free" card, and he refused it to remain with his fellow POW's, that's a little hard to top.  The surge was instrumental in reviving McCain's candidacy (AND turning the tide in Iraq) but Petraeus would diminish the star of McCain's military service by sharing the platform with him.  My son sings his praises daily, and his endorsement would bring the house down, but this is not the election year he should participate in.

His name has been mentioned in some speculation, but I see this as pretty much on the fantasy scale, hence my single star vote. However, let me indulge the argument in favor for a moment.

The Democrats will have have the star factor this election. Clinton and Obama have become huge figures and their primary battles have been compelling theatre. McCain knows he will be facing a flashy ticket, no matter which of the two emerges the victor, and may be thinking that a traditional, tactical veep pick will not be sufficient.

Choosing one who rejects the theory of evolution (Huckabee) won't cut it, do, nor will taking a Crist or Pawlenty, because the only thing they bring to the table is the possibility of carrying their home state. Similarly, seeking to offset the inevitable gender or black element on the Dems ticket with either an obscure female such as Sarah Palin or a black former congressman (J.C.Watts) would look too much like "me too". Condoleezza Rice, who might be attractive in the role, has the asset of being female and black but the liability of being linked to Bush, and doesn't want the job anyway.

An audacious choice for McCain would be to nominate General David Petraeus, commanding general of the multinational force in Iraq and the author of the surge which had the incidental side effect of helping bring McCain's candidacy back from the dead. McCain could point to a long America tradition of looking to military leaders. Washington, Grant, and Eisenhower are not historical accidents. Petraeus, who is no dummy, and is a highly regarded military thinker. His addition to the ticket would be a subtle reminder of McCain's own military background.

As I said, its idle speculation, but its an interesting idea that isn't going to happen.