All hail, the Not Awares

Virginia, more than any time in recent memory, is brimming with politicians aspiring to near-greatness.

Long known as the Mother of Presidents, our fair state could soon become the Mother of Vice Presidents. Or, at the very least, the Mother of Vice President Wannabes.

We could be on the verge of becoming the Alaska of 2012, only more conversant on current events and - given our leadership's ineptitude on all things transportation - way less likely to help build a bridge to anywhere, much less a Bridge to Nowhere.

Bob McDonnell is the most-talked-about contender for someone's running mate.

In recent months, he's appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and - if memory serves - the Home Shopping Network ("For only $49.99, you can name one of our highways or bridges! Name two, and I'll let you toll a third for 54 years!")

McDonnell also joined Mitt Romney on the campaign trail in South Carolina, hailing the Massachusetts moderate as a "results-oriented conservative."

With this catchy phrase, McDonnell drew a bright line distinguishing Romney and himself from disoriented conservatives and, of course, Massachusetts liberals.

"America needs leadership, and that's what governors do: They lead," he said. "Governors actually have to find solutions and bring all parties together in order to get results for their citizens - they can't just sit back and cast votes."

Obviously, he didn't mean this year's General Assembly when he said "solutions" or "results" or "bring all parties together."

And it is our lieutenant governor who sits back and cast votes - as the intrepid Bill Bolling demonstrated when he declared he wasn't interested in any namby-pamby power-sharing agreement in the state Senate despite a 20-20 party split.

Bolling votes on stuff all the time, which undoubtedly helped earn him a stout 38 percent approval rating in a recent Quinnipiac University poll. A significant number of Virginians surveyed - 43 percent - rated Bolling's job performance as "DK/NA," which presumably stands for "don't know" and "not aware" of the fellow.

It's counterintuitive, I know, but the Not Awares - maybe the 2012 version of soccer moms and NASCAR dads? - could vault Bolling into VP contention, too.

In 2008, after all, Republicans went with Sarah Palin, a candidate little known outside of her home state. This time around, perhaps the key to victory is to nominate a person little known inside his own state.

Bolling is already locked in a battle against Virginia's mercurial attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Given his disinclination to wait his turn, Cuccinelli could become a VP contender, too, leaping past McDonnell and Bolling. How's a Gingrich-Cuccinelli ticket sound? Besides shrill, erratic and morbidly entertaining?

Those same attributes could place Congressman Eric Cantor into the running, too. His breath-holding stance on the nation's debt ceiling - a move that nearly shut down the government and put America's credit rating at risk - makes him a natural sidekick for Newt Gingrich.

And let's not rule out longshot Bob Marshall, a state delegate who recently announced he's running against George Allen for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Allen, who incessantly pointed out that he was a Jeffersonian Republican during his years as governor, is now apparently too much of a Massachusetts liberal, or moderate, for some folks in the GOP.

An enterprising presidential nominee - say, the resurgent Rick Santorum - could pluck Marshall, who shares Santorum's penchant for divisive social issues over "solutions" and "results," from relative obscurity.

I'm undoubtedly leaving out other rising stars in Virginia who were amply qualified for the job famously described as not worth a bucket of warm spit.

If a Virginian does get the nod, the road to the White House will no doubt be exhilarating for all of us.

I don't know what route GPS will recommend for the contenders, but I suggest swinging toward western Virginia - they have great roads out there - then through West Virginia and Maryland to D.C. Given the state of our own highways, it's a quicker way to get there from here.

Daryl Lease is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. Email: daryl.lease@pilotonline.com