The Republican Party has nominated one woman for vice president, Sarah Palin, in 2008. The Democratic Party set the tone earlier with Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. Both were humiliated in the Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama sweeps.
The nominee of the GOP in 2012, possibly Mitt Romney, must name a lady conservative of prominence, most likely Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) or possibly the somewhat controversial U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.).
President Obama may not dump Joe Biden in an effort to save himself, though Democrats have a dumping tradition. Dumpees include Jim Farley in 1940 and Henry Wallace in 1944. Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, he of the late 1896 immortal “Cross of Gold” speech, kept Adlai Stevenson in 1896 and 1900 but chose another in 1904. Even Abraham Lincoln replaced Hannibal Hamlin in 1864.
It’s possible Obama will announce his return to Chicago next June as his now-dismal prospects worsen severely during the January-on primaries. No one will oppose him, none would want to in the almost inevitable GOP victory.
If he’s desperate enough, he’ll name Hilary Clinton should she be addled enough to accept after a great career as secretary of state. Obama has slim, if any, foreign policy smarts.