There's a raging debate on the left right now over former Ga. Sen Sam Nunn as Obama's VP pick.

OpenLeft's Chris Bowers and Democratic Strategist Ed Kilgore, for instance, are going at it. For the detractors, there are the issues of Nunn being seen as hostile to gay rights and his ties to the corporate world.

Stuart Rothenberg pokes his nose into the debate and writes:

Frankly, the assertion that gays -- lliberal and Democratic gays, that is -- may sit out the presidential race if Nunn is chosen by Obama is difficult to take seriously.

Given Obama's record in Illinois and in the Senate, his overall ideology and the effusive endorsement of him earlier this month by the Human Rights Campaign, "the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights group," it's absurd to suggest that politically interested gays who otherwise agree with Obama and share his values would withhold their vote if he selected Nunn to join his ticket.

I think this is sound analysis. Obama might not pick Nunn because he doesn't agree with him, but probably not because the left dislikes him. Obama has the advantage of knowing that the left isn't about to sit this one out, so he can be a little political in his choice of running mates.