Conclusion: Obama will definitely choose a national-security expert--like Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden; Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska; Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island or Sam Nunn, former Georgia senator and one-time Armed Services Committee chairman--as his running mate.
Line of Reasoning: It fits the theme. As Kansas Governor, Convention Co-Chair and [broken link removed] Kathleen Sebelius [broken link removed] Monday, the leitmotif for Wednesday night--that is, the night Obama's sidekick takes the stage--is "Securing America’s Future." "It's about honoring our veterans and the families of our veterans," she told reporters, "and how to make us safer and move past the divisiveness and into the future." Calling Sebelius's "intriguing announcement" a potential "slip-up," 411mania.com concluded that "Obama's VP pick will in fact hold gravitas in the areas of military/national security issues."
Credibility Rating: Three. Sure, it would make sense for Obama to highlight Biden's or Reed's credentials on a night devoted solely to national security. But wouldn't it make as much sense him to give a Sebelius or a Kaine--relative foreign-policy lightweights--an opportunity to show that they too can speak convincingly about keeping America safe at the very moment millions of Americans are forming their first impressions? A successful convention speech can become a credential in and of itself--see: Obama, Barack H.--so there's no reason to think that Obama would steer a greener veep away from security just because it's a perceived weakness. In fact, quite the contrary. As Sebelius herself said on Monday, "I think anyone Sen. Obama picks as Vice President will be more than prepared to address those issues."