When U.S. Sen. Barack Obama began his presidential campaign on a freezing February day in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. last year, he was literally out in the cold. Now, it’s hard to be more politically hot.

A distinct underdog at the start of the primary process, Obama managed to derail what many political observers believed would be Sen. Hillary Clinton’s express ride to the White House. On his way to Denver as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Obama hopes to select his running mate before his party’s convention begins on Aug. 25. He has already defied conventional wisdom by winning the protracted primary race battle. Obama now has to do the delicate dance between compatibility and electability when deciding who the Democratic vice-presidential candidate will be. For Obama, the first African-American presidential candidate with a strong chance to win, the choice is one more hurdle to be faced in the making of history.

From Dems around the state, thoughts about Obama’s running mate

Obama’s early roll call of suggested potential running mates (including New Jersey’s former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley) has been reportedly narrowed down to four names: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, Indiana U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. But for one of Obama’s earliest and strongest supporters from New Jersey, another name should still be mentioned.

"Frankly, I think that Sen. Clinton should be right at the top of the short list of potential running mates for Sen. Obama," said U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn), the Northeast regional co-chair for the Obama campaign, noting that Clinton fits the most important criteria of any vice-presidential candidate. "Regional balance and compatibility come after the first consideration: the ability to perform the duties of president if called to do so. She is extremely qualified to be president."

However, Rothman also noted that while many vice presidents have gone on to the top job, the buzz generated every four years during the vice-presidential selection process is in some ways just a lot of noise.

"It’s hard to think of a vice-presidential candidate in the last 40 years who had made the difference," he said. "The last one was Lyndon Baines Johnson back in 1960, who arguably helped carry Texas for John F. Kennedy. The country managed to disregard the lack of qualifications of Dan Quayle when they voted for George H.W. Bush for president in 1988. But again, what matters most is if the selected running mate can ultimately do the big job."

The man who will lead New Jersey’s delegation to Denver concurred with Rothman’s sense of vice-presidential selection priority.

"It’s about who would make a great president if he or she were no longer there. That’s the bottom line," said Gov. Jon Corzine, who originally supported Sen. Clinton’s presidential bid but is now on board with Obama. "I think looking at the choice based on region or gender is the wrong way to look at it. What’s essential is who would be a good advisor on issues like national security or the economy. Then you go to who will help you politically, because you still have to be elected."

For New Jersey State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), one primary political consideration is name recognition.

"You probably need somebody who is a known quantity," she said, noting that Sen. Biden is a personal favorite due to his considerable experience in foreign affairs. "But I don’t think it’s of the utmost importance that the choice be a woman. For example, if Sen. Clinton were picked I’d be delighted because of her abilities and experience, not because of her gender."

Regardless of the candidate’s final decision, Weinberg, an early Obama supporter, is confident when she looks past the convention to November.

"New Jersey is a blue state, and George W. Bush’s poll numbers are in the tank here," she said. "Barack Obama is going to take New Jersey."

With close election expected, Obama’s VP choice closely watched

According to Brigid Harrison, professor of political science at Montclair State University, Obama can nail down New Jersey’s 15 electoral votes by focusing on two of the four names that have recently come into the forefront of vice-presidential speculation.

"Lots of New Jersey voters, particularly those in the southern portion of the state, are familiar with Joe Biden and his policy expertise because Delaware is part of the Philadelphia media market," she said. "People living below Trenton and the Raritan River are familiar with his name in the same way people in North Jersey are familiar with Sen. Clinton. Gov. Sebelius would also sell well with New Jersey voters, because Sen. Clinton ran so strongly here," a reference to Clinton’s 54 percent to 44 percent victory over Obama in the Feb. 5 Democratic presidential primary. "I think that there is an understanding that Sen. Obama will not choose Sen. Clinton, because there’s a disconnect between their candidacies. But I don’t think that disaffected Hillary voters are going to base their vote on whether or not Obama puts a woman on the ticket."

Then again, Harrison does not rule out Obama’s overall strategy taking a more southern direction.

"An Obama-Kaine candidacy would sell very well in the South, and Democrats increasingly realize that they can’t win the White House unless they do well there," she said. "With the strong level of support from the African-American community, the Obama campaign understands that the South is going to be enormously important. A Kaine selection bolsters this support and also bolsters turnout. Plus, picking a hardcore Washington insider would be in defiance of Obama’s message of change. Obama may pick someone who he may ultimately be more comfortable with, plus someone who he believes resonates with that message, which has so far resonated very well."

Although Obama lost the New Jersey primary to Clinton, there is another number that Harrison believes bodes very well for Obama in Bergen County, which is often seen as a bellwether county in the state, as well as New Jersey as a whole.

"The magic number to me is the 1.5 million Democratic voters who are now registered with the party, particularly those new voters who registered to vote in the Feb. 5 primary," she said. "Many of these new registrants were Obama supporters, and the bulk of these voters are not going to switch and vote for McCain."

Nevertheless, questions about Obama’s relative level of experience may make his selection of a running mate relatively more important.

"Obama’s choice is more important because we have comparatively little on which to judge him," Harrison said. "We don’t have a decades-long career like Sen. McCain has had that we can look at. Therefore, there is a lot more intrigue and interest in his choice. A lot of people are waiting to see how this decision plays out."

In Rothman’s opinion, when weighing the merits of experience, the people should look back to a lawyer from the Illinois town where Obama began his presidential run.

"Sen. Obama has more experience than Abraham Lincoln had when he was elected president in 1860," he said. "At 47 years old, he is older than Teddy Roosevelt, J.F.K. and Bill Clinton when they became president. And his judgment on the issue of the Iraq war was sounder than the decision-makers with more experience made. People want a change."

If Obama has difficulty making his decision before he gets to Denver, there is one lady from Teaneck who wants it known that she’s there for him.

"He hasn’t called me yet," said Weinberg. "I’ll still waiting."