An e-mail:

Fred has a golden opportunity to shake up the race in a big way here. Announce his running mate. That would force the Hillary/Obama issue to the forefront. It would relieve Romney or Giuliani of any second guessing about the stakes. Thompson/Lieberman. Scare the hell out of everybody…on Leno live and in living color…

That would get things super-interesting early.

Jon Lerner has the same suspicion.

I do think the veep is going to matter — and especially to conservatives. Early match-ups wouldn’t be a bad idea. If Rudy had Bill Bennett or Rick Santorum running with him, he’d get a second look from pro-lifers who are sick over the prospect of a pro-choice nominee, for instance. A solidly conservative Dick Cheney like figure (is anyone Dick Cheney like though) could help Romney, to ease any concerns about this able guy folks feel like they just met…..