So You Want to be Vice President?

The job comes with a nice title, a house, a ride to work (with a police escort), and use of a plane. The downside is that your fate is in someone else's hands and if it does not go well you end up as a trivia question answer or potential contestant on "Dancing with the Stars".
There is much talk about the Vice Presidency these days. Barack Obama picked a long time Washington veteran, John McCain picked a relative unknown, but made history with the first female Republican nominee. The late night comics still speculate that Dick Cheney lives in a cave and secretly rules the world. Al Gore travels the country telling us to turn out our lights and get out of our cars (usually speaking in well lit auditoriums after arriving in a three car motorcade before returning to his home that uses as much electricity as a football stadium). And yes, the producers of Dancing with the Stars apparently tried to get Dan Quayle as a contestant.
The interesting thing about the Quayle story is that a former Vice President would be defined as a "star". John Nance Garner, a former Vice President, once described the job as not being worth a bucket of warm spit. John Adams, our first Vice President probably described it best: "I am nothing, but I may be everything".
Vice Presidents have become President with varying results. Teddy Roosevelt became a beloved President after succeeding to the presidency. Likewise, history reflects well on Harry Truman. Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford faced tougher circumstances.
The vice presidency is often the product of the political equivalent of an arranged marriage. Do not believe any candidate who says they are looking for the "best person to assume the presidency". These guys think they are immortal. They are looking for the "best person to help me win the election". Johnson helped Kennedy win Texas. George Bush helped Reagan pull the party together. Al Gore reinforced Bill Clinton's message of change and youth. Dan Quayle, Spiro Agnew...well, I'm still working on those, but their bosses did win.
After January 20th, the Vice President Palin or Biden will move into the big house. We will see them on TV sitting behind the President at the State of the Union (where he or she will have to try and make small talk with Nancy Pelosi...maybe the job is tough!) and otherwise we will not hear much from them. In reality, we do not want to hear much, we do not want them to become "everything".
Still, a house, a car and a plane? It seems like a good gig.