Hagan a heartbeat from presidency?

Anything is possible in politics, but Sen. Kay Hagan as vice president? A New Jersey political analyst suggests exactly that.
Alan Steinberg, who writes PolitickerNJ.com, predicted that Obama would name Joe Biden as his new secretary of state. Then, weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, he'd name Hagan as his running mate. Steinberg was a regional administrator at the EPA under President George W. Bush and is now on the faculty at Monmouth University.
His prediction is based primarily on the idea that Obama really, really, really needs to win North Carolina in 2012. That's true, but it's more than a stretch to say that means Obama will tap the state's junior senator to be on his ticket.
Hagan's hometown paper, the News & Record of Greensboro, kind of likes the idea. "Hagan would be a good veep ... " the paper says. "No doubt Hagan would look like a smart pick for him if he really does intend to shift Biden off the ticket. A very competent woman senator from the South could appeal to a lot of constituencies."
As for us? We know Sen. Hagan. We like Sen. Hagan. But we don't think she's ready to be president of the United States, as a vice president must be. She should stick to the Senate, and Steinberg should stick to something besides political predictions.

-- Posted by Taylor Batten, for the Observer editorial board