From a "plugged-in Republican," NRO's Jim Geraghty is hearing that Carly Fiorina could be a VP finalist. The Republican makes some good points, but Geraghty makes one that could trump them all: She's never been elected to office before. Going on the presidential trail is not the kind of "trial by fire" rookie politicians handle well (e.g., Wes Clark).

To her inexperience Geraghty says: "Note that Obama, a guy who won exactly one statewide general election in his life -- matched up against Alan Keyes! -- can't be the guy making that argument." True, but the danger is not from attacks on her, but just from her being on the trail. Were Obama a lesser politician some of the mistakes he made early in the campaign could have sunk his candidacy.

GREG ADDS:

Another potential problem with Fiorina as McCain's running mate is that with her CEO background a little else it would allow the Democrats to label her as 'The CEO Pick'. One can picture Obama & Co. combining their attacks on the Bush economy with criticism of today's excessive CEO pay, exclaiming: "And McCain put one on the ticket!".

In an election that will likely center on the economy and whether Obama can get the working class vote, a running mate who is most strongly identified as a CEO could do a lot more damage than good.

This is different than say if McCain picked Mitt Romney, who brings much a wider variety of substance to the ticket (governor, head of the Olympics, Mormon, former Presidential candidate, appeal in Michigan and the west, etc.). There's certainly the potential for Fiorina to appeal to female voters but news of her selection could be easily headlined as 'The CEO Pick'. If it's going to be a CEO it would be helpful for McCain to have a running mate with more to offer to Reagan Democrats.