On With The Veepstakes...

Now that the primary season is behind us and the candidates for the presidential race are clear, we turn our focus to who will be the vice presidential candidates on a Gore or Bush ticket.

In a interview Thursday morning with CBS News Early Show Anchor Bryant Gumbel, contributors Mario Cuomo and Jack Kemp were asked to focus on what they thought Gore and Bush should look for in a vice president.

"The VP candidate must have sufficient gravitas and stature to be not only a good partner but also be perceived as likely to be a good president." said Cuomo, the former New York governor.

Kemp agreed, saying "Can you step in and be president of the United States, number one?"

Number two, said Kemp: "do you share a fundamental philosophy of government?"

Kemp said the most suitable running mates for George W. Bush would be Colin Powell, Sen. John McCain, or Elizabeth Dole. Cuomo said Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Sen. Diane Feinstein of California, and Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson would be top choices.

With Gore painting himself as "The Campaign Finance Reformer," and Bush focusing on the education front, Cuomo and Kemp said these issues will be especially important in the search for a vice presidential partner.

Cuomo also stated that, while Veepstakes discussion is rampant, it would remain in the best interest of Bush - and especially Gore - to wait until after the conventions this summer to make their decisions.

Both Cuomo and Kemp said it would be smarter to wait until it become clearer which states will be the most critical, and then choose a running mate from that region.

"In Gore's case, don't get anywhere near an offer to a VP candidate until you know what the other guys are doing," Cuomo said referring to the fact that Bush will choose his running mate first.