ISO VP ASAP.

IT'S HARD TO FIND the right running mate. Anti it's especially hard for a Democrat right now: George W. Bush has a Palm Pilot filled with intriguing candidates--from Colin Powell to congressional standouts like Chuck Hagel and big state governors like Tom Ridge. By contrast, the Democrats' little black book looks awfully thin. Some of the party's brightest stars were killed off in the purge of `94. And Gore's political papa, Bill Clinton, is such a scene stealer that the next generation has hardly had a chance to get noticed.

We'd like to sec Al Gore happily married, so enough already with the excuses: Al can't run unless he makes a match and, despite all the handwringing, we can think of a number of very attractive possibilities. To help him get excited about popping the question, we asked a few friends of the Monthly to describe some of the most promising possibilities who are just a bit off the beaten track. We like them ail--and, most important, we think that any one of them could make Al a very happy man.