It's a job no one really wants, but few turn it down - the vice presidency. In many ways, it's a thankless office. Franklin Roosevelt's VP, the colorful John Nance Garner, once said it "ain't worth a pitcher of warm spit." Yet you can't dismiss the vice president all together - accidents and assassinations do happen, after all. Ten of our country's 42 presidents had been veeps who came to power when something happened to "the boss."

Right now, both George W. Bush and Al Gore, having vanquished their opponents in the primaries, are focusing on the tough decision of choosing a good vice-presidential nominee - a man or woman who could somehow energize their supporters. It's hard to say what traits they will seek in a running mate. Sometimes vice presidents are chosen because they come from an important state. Other times they're selected to bring to the ticket some strength that the presidential nominee might lack.

But usually, no matter how appealing a running mate might be, they play very little role in the election's eventual outcome. A classic example is the Bush/Quayle landslide of 1988. Throughout that campaign, many political analysts thought Quayle could become a real liability to the Republican ticket after he committed a series of gaffes and blunders. Nevertheless, Bush still won - the voters were more concerned about who would be a better president, not vice president.

But this year, who the running mates are might have more of an impact than in the past. It's only April, and polls show most Americans are already bored to death with what they consider to be a lackluster campaign. Advisors to Bush and Gore are encouraging their candidates to pick a running mate who will give them an extra boost in the polls and shake things up as the election heads into the home stretch.

Bush is in an especially strong position right now - because the Republican convention is a month before the Democrats', he will be choosing his running mate first. If he picks someone especially impressive who starts to click with voters, then Gore will be forced to pick someone of equal caliber or risk losing momentum to Bush.

This year, with polls showing Bush trailing slightly among women, I think the best thing Bush can do is to do is pick a female running mate. If I were one of his top advisors, the name I'd be pushing for strongly is New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.

Nominating a woman VP isn't anything new - back in '84 Walter Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro. Although the decision got a ton of media attention, soon it became apparent that even a female on the Democratic ticket wasn't going to stop Ronald Reagan that year. Many also questioned whether Ferraro was picked solely because of her gender, pointing to her relative lack of experience in national affairs (six years as a congresswoman from New York).

Whitman's appeal, on the other hand, transcends her gender. A two-term governor of a populous state, she'd bring expertise to the GOP ticket on issues she calls the "four Es" - education, economy, environment and the elderly - issues that are especially important to female voters of all political persuasions.

Her record in New Jersey is also impressive. One of the country's most fiscally conservative governors, Whitman cut taxes 37 times and gave back $11 billion to New Jersey taxpayers. Nearly 400,000 jobs were created in the state during her administration, and her tough crime policy has resulted in the state's lowest crime rate since 1974.

Indeed, Whitman's accomplishments have caused many to call her a "rising star" within the Republican party. In 1995, she was tapped to deliver the Republican response to President Clinton's State of the Union. Today, she's one of the GOP's most sought after fundraising speakers.

But there is one big drawback for having Whitman on the ticket. Many ultra-conservatives condemn her position on social issues, particularly her support for abortion rights. After she vetoed a bill to ban so-called partial birth abortions (when it didn't make any exceptions for the health of the mother), abortion