I was thinking more on the line of Newt Gingrich. He is the only man with the talent and brain power to fix this mess. On top of already having a brilliant plan laid out, he knows exactly when and where to start.
The things I like about Newt are that he doesn’t give a s___ about what people say about his past. Even though I view him as a political opportunist (the AGW/Pelosi crap) and a turncoat (he basically engineered the ultimate failure of the Contract with America), he’s a great debater. I do think he’d make a better VP than a P, and would pull along a lot of people who maybe weren’t crazy about the top of the ticket.
He needs to do well in California. If he can pull that off, he’ll be on the ticket, one way or another. The Pubbie ticket will need ‘star power’ in both slots to ensure success.