CON: Ridge is identified as a pro-choice Catholic – and on that issue alone McCain probably won’t consider him. In an interview with Chris Matthews on “Hardball,” McCain suggested that any disagreement with his own strongly pro-life record would probably rule out a potential running mate, and Matthews (and others) assumed he had Ridge in mind.

FRANK KEATING

PRO: Another great resume: FBI agent who specialized in investigating terrorists, crime-busting US attorney, Republican leader in the Oklahoma State Senate, Associate Attorney General and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (under Jack Kemp), two term Governor of Oklahoma (including compassionate and inspiring leadership after the Oklahoma City bombing). Keating is also a devout Catholic, who used his crime-fighting abilities to help expose and root-out the scandal of priestly abuse in his church, representing the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

CON: His age: (64) hardly gives the ticket the youthful balance it probably needs. Ideally, the Republicans don’t want to face Obama’s zesty youth with two guys with thinning white hair.

THE WOMEN

The claims by Hillary Clinton supporters that their favorite suffered from “sexism” provide a juicy opportunity for the GOP to place a female on the ticket and to benefit from this disgruntlement. If Obama fails to select Hillary (and he seems determined to avoid her if he possibly can) he probably can’t choose another woman (like Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas) because any such selection would seem less qualified, less logical, than Senator Clinton herself.

In any event, if the GOP could turn to a strongly qualified female, it might create a good deal of excitement and media enthusiasm for the ticket. The problem is that there’s no obvious female contender and the leading names display serious shortcomings.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas? Probably too old (64), with some corruption charges against her, and a history as a stunningly boring public speaker. Senator Elizabeth Hanford Dole of North Carolina? Definitely too old (even older than McCain –by one month) and carrying association with an even older guy—Bob Dole.

Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska? An intriguing possibility, because this athlete and former beauty queen has already inspired an admiring website called “America’s Hottest Governor.” At 44, she definitely brings youth (and charisma) to the ticket, but experience is a real problem: she’s been governor less than two years, and before that served only as mayor of the town of Wasilla (hardly qualification for leader of the free world).

This leaves only one credible female candidate…..

JODI RELL

PRO: It’s amazing that this phenomenally popular Governor of Connecticut hasn’t received more attention. In her re-election bid (2006), she received the most votes for governor of any candidate in state history, crushing her Democratic opponent 63% to 36%, in a heavily Democratic state in a nightmarishly tough year for Republicans. Her recent approval ratings approach a stratospheric 80%. As governor, she masterfully finessed the gay marriage issue – agreeing to sign a civil union bill, but only if it came attached to a provision limiting marriage itself to “a man and a woman.” She’s threatened to veto any gay marriage act. She served ten years in the state legislature and three terms as Lieutenant Governor before she became Governor in 2004, cleaning up the ethical disaster left behind from her disgraced and resigned predecessor, John Rowland. Her husband is a Navy pilot (like McCain), and she herself is a courageous breast cancer survivor – a dynamic but down-to-earth presence at age 62, with special appeal to crucial suburban voters. Rell’s toughness and unpretentiousness will remind people of what they thought they liked about Hillary.

CON: Though she studied at Old Dominion University in Virginia and Western Connecticut State University, she never graduated from college—she would be the first individual on a national ticket since Truman without a college degree. In today’s anti-elitist climate, that might actually be an advantage. Connecticut’s not supposed to be a swing state, but with Rell on the ticket and Joe Lieberman’s enthusiastic support for McCain, the Democrats would have to fight hard to keep the Nutmeg State.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Bobby Jindal offers the GOP the best chance in many years for reshaping the party's tarnished, tired image without in any way abandoning timeless conservative principles. McCain should select the Louisiana governor several weeks before the convention, to get maximum benefit from his candidacy. Imagine a quick Jindal foreign tour-- including a stop in his ancestral homeland, India, where he will be received (rightly) as a conquering hero. Just as Obama-mania begins to feel a bit forced and old-hat, Jindal-mania can inspire press and public with attention to every aspect of the governor's amazing career, his gorgeous and adorable young family, profoundly eloquent expressions of Catholic faith (he gives moving testimonials to the power of Christ in Evangelical churches), unlikely connection with the "Bubba" vote in Louisiana, and much, much more. The very prospect of a Vice President whose full legal name is "Piyush Subhaschandra Amrit "Bobby" Jindal" has a marvelously exotic, only-in-America feel to it.

If McCain for some reason misses this obvious choice, Mary Jodi Rell of Connecticut offers another ground-breaking possibility which Democrats will find tough to smear. Among the more "conventional" white male candidates, Frank Keating and Tim Pawlenty probably offer Republicans the strongest additions to the ticket.

One of the main needs for the entire party in facing down the energized Democrats in what looks like a tough year for the GOP is a jolt of electricity, of freshness, to send a message that this isn't just your grandfather's GOP -- it's a new, dynamic, determined party ready to lead the country in a bold new conservative direction. Republicans can't win merely by scaring people about Obama. The American people truly do crave change and with his selection of a running mate McCain should signal that they can get the right kind of change -- more freedom, less government and more world leadership, less America-bashing -- by electing Republicans. The choice of the right ticket-mate is particularly important this year not just because of Senator McCain's advanced age, but because of the Republican Party's desperate and obvious need to improve its image.

We need to deploy the right "c words" -- clear-cut conservative change -- not the wrong c words -- corruption and compromise.

Fortunately, the list of truly impressive and promising candidates reviewed above shows that many potential running mates could help the ticket and that whatever its faults, the Republican Party boasts a deep, impressive bench and a wide array of talented up-and-comers. Politically, they're all pros -- and, unlike some of the parties ethically challenged former leaders, none of them are cons.