When Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush selected former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney as his running mate, his message was clear: "I want an elderly hawk conservative with a heart condition to be MY vice president!!" But Bush's goofy flub could easily be Al Gore's greatest boost. In the wake of the Cheney choice, Gore is poised to distinguish himself with an equally audacious selection--and Democratic Party strategists are urging Gore to be the first Democratic presidential candidate since Walter Mondale to choose a woman as his running mate. The Stranger couldn't agree more! Here are our suggestions for Gore/Woman tickets that cannot fail.

1. Gore/Winfrey

Judging from the success of her talk show, book club, diet guides, national magazine, and television network, one can safely assume that a majority of Americans would be completely content to have entertainment magnate Oprah Winfrey control every single aspect of their lives. In selecting Winfrey as his running mate, Gore would display a canny knowledge of his constituents' deep desires, and would create a ballot that simply--even if Gore was caught snorting coke out of Oprah's butt crack--could not fail.

2. Gore/Nicastro

Sure, she's a bit of a novice--but maverick Seattle City Council Member Judy Nicastro already displays all of the traits Americans require from a female politican: She's smart, sexy, ballsy, and funny; and if she's not a lesbian, she at least has the political savvy to look like one! In selecting Judy Nicastro as his running mate, Gore would show his faith in the future, and his willingness to gamble on an unknown but entirely worthy upstart.

3. Gore/Child

In selecting best-selling pop group Destiny's Child as his running mate, Gore would place himself in firm opposition to boring old Bush and his geriatric-pleasing choice of Dick Cheney, and align himself with the as-yet-untapped Total Request Live voting block. Plus, with their hard-edged approach to capital gains and corporate welfare, the Gore/Child administration will certainly provide middle-to-low income tax breaks to help pay those "Bills, Bills, Bills"!