I can't stand Kerry, but then again I don't like Bush either, so this election is taking on shades of a choice between explosive diarrhea and chronic projectile vomiting. A losing proposition either way. That said, I wouldn't be so sure G-Dub has it locked down, and if he doesn't then the question is moot.
In any case. Speaking purely tactically: McCain/Rice would give the Dems fits, and force the Democratic Party right. Rice would kick the legs out from under them by being a strong draw for middle and upper class minority voters, and virtually impervious to attack. McCain as a centrist would draw swing voters just as if not more effectively than Hillary. She'd had to pull a tremendous rabbit out of her hat in a VP candidate to neutralize that. The only problem is I don't think McCain is palatable to core GOP voters. Also, IMHO, I think a third party, with a strong, well articulated centrist position would do better than you might expect after the last decade of radical polarization. Put a successful businessman, somebody respected, selfmade, with no scandal around them - say Jack Welch, Eli Broad, or Michael Dell - on a ticket with a woman or minority with a chief executive political background, say Doug Wilder or Christie Todd Whitman, and a well thought out attack on both mainstream parties as being slaves to niche special interest groups. They could carve out the middle for themselves, and make a serious dent.
