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On the tip of tongues in the Capitol: Vice President Kamala Harris' pick as her running mate in the 2024 presidential stakes. Everyone has a theory. All agree this is a happy problem to solve, a true test of judgment.

Democrats were tearing out their hair before frail President Joe Biden retired from his reelection race. Now the party has started all over again. It speedily unified, with Harris showing vigor and readiness to take on Republican Donald Trump and his offensive running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.

Vance's remarks about women, children and cats are so outrageous, not even Trump would say them.

Strike up "Happy Days Are Here Again"?

Will the governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, or the senator and astronaut from Arizona, Mark Kelly, join Harris? Some favor Tim Walz, the feisty Minnesota governor.

Personally, I like folksy Andy Beshear, 46, the Kentucky governor, a counterpoint to balance Vance's political pose as a poor Appalachian (who went to Yale Law School and became a California venture capitalist.)

Southern Democratic governors are few, blessed with a ton of winning political talent; just think Bill Clinton.

So hold the old FDR theme song until Democrats gather in Chicago for their August convention. There we shall see an aged leader, Biden, "leave the sceptre and the isle" to his chosen successor, Harris (in Tennyson's poem).

Such a clear transfer of power from one generation down to the next is stark and rare within one political party. At 81, Biden is old enough to be a father to Harris, 59, or Kelly and Walz, each 60. The perfect age for seasoned leadership.

Let's look at other contenders.

Shapiro, 51, a first-term governor in a "Blue Wall" state, a must-win for Harris, should stay right where he is. There he can build on an excellent record and help her whether he's on the ticket or not. Shapiro got the Interstate 95 bridge collapse fixed fast, which made national news.

Former Navy fighter pilot and space shuttle commander Kelly's biography reads like a political dream. His wife, Gabby Giffords, a former Arizona congresswoman, was shot in the head at a rally in 2011 and so badly injured she resigned from Congress to relearn how to speak. Kelly resigned from NASA and stood by his wife ever since.

That shows a stellar character. Kelly was elected to the Senate in 2020.

I spoke to the senator inside the Capitol on the night of Jan. 6, and he looked stricken to see political violence hitting home again.

Walz is a true midwestern populist full of fighting words. Must he be on the ballot to help win the other two "Blue Wall" states, neighboring Wisconsin and Michigan?

That is the question.

Although Walz is Harris' peer, he looks older and his "hot" style contrasts with her cooler manner. He should not overshadow or outshout the nominee's voice.

Walz has great verbal dexterity but talks almost too much. He'd be an excellent heartland messenger for Harris, a "coastal elite" Californian. (Former President Barack Obama luckily hailed from Illinois.)

Remember, they say history rhymes. Walz reminds me of Henry Wallace, the midwestern progressive and Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president, until he wasn't. The party convention bumped Wallace, and Sen. Harry Truman replaced him in the 1944 election.

Two other names on the list, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, are in their 40s. They shine as presidential prospects, poised to take center stage someday soon. Both served in the military.

A new governor, Moore also had a broken bridge to deal with, in Baltimore.

New to electoral politics, Moore is a natural. He's Black and Buttigieg is gay, but such barriers to office are fallen -- or falling.

Author and journalist Marvin Kalb, one of Washington's wise men, cowrote a Time magazine piece praising Kelly: "on Capitol Hill, a tough place for making friends, Kelly is highly regarded by colleagues on both sides of the aisle."

Representing a southern border state, Kelly buttresses an issue where Harris is weak.

Yet Kelly is the strong, silent, reserved type. My solution: to borrow only a cup of Walz's spirited words.

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The author may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. To find out more about Jamie Stiehm and other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, please visit creators.com.

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