MidwestPolitics.com Election Blog

Washington, D.C., based newspaper The Hill asked all 97 senators not running for president what they would do if asked to be the vice presidential nominee.

Here's what the Midwestern senators said:

ILLINOIS

Sen. Dick Durbin (D)
"I've decided not to run. No. … And I already have a day job."

IOWA

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R)
"I'm too old to be vice president. But I am young enough to be reelected to the Senate."

Sen. Tom Harkin (D)
"No, I'd have Jon Stewart stand in for me. Jon Stewart. That's my guy."

MICHIGAN

Sen. Carl Levin (D)
"I haven't considered it and I don't expect to be asked, so I wouldn't spend any time even thinking about it."

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D)
"I don't believe that's going to happen, but certainly it's something that anybody would be honored to talk about."

MINNESOTA

Sen. Norm Coleman (R)
"No. I'm up for reelection and I've got the guy who should be vice president. He's my governor [Tim Pawlenty (R)]. My governor is my candidate."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D)
"No. I'm focused on being a senator from Minnesota."

OHIO

Sen. George Voinovich (R)
"Honestly, if John McCain came to me and said, 'George, I think that you would help me and should be part of my team,' I'd have to say, 'Yes, I'd be glad to help.' The fact of the matter is, I'm worried about our country. I'm really worried. And I want to run again for only one reason, that things are so screwed up, I'm just worried about my kids. So if somebody came to me and said, 'We really think you could help us do this,' I couldn't say no because maybe it's another way of serving my country and it's maybe even more important than being a senator. The first question I'd ask is, 'What role would you want me to play? If you want me to give a bunch of speeches, I'm not the guy. Get somebody else. If you want me to roll up the shirtsleeves, get up early in the morning, dot the I's and cross the T's, do substantive stuff? OK.' "

Sen. Sherrod Brown(D)
"No, I want to continue serving the people of Ohio as their senator for as long as I'm able."

WISCONSIN

Sen. Russ Feingold (D)
"If a candidate literally says, 'You're the person,' I'd have to consider it, but I prefer to do what I'm doing."

Sen. Herb Kohl (D)
"No. Never thought about it."

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With three Michigan stops planned for Wednesday (the Chrysler plant in Sterling Heights, a community college in Warren and a rally in Grand Rapids), Barack Obama is, in the words of the Wall Street Journal, starting "from scratch" at building a campaign organization.

Here's how the article starts:

Barack Obama unofficially kicks off his campaign against John McCain Wednesday in Michigan, a state the Democrats have barely held onto in recent years and where they start at a big disadvantage.

Because Sen. Obama, who appears close to wrapping up the Democratic nomination, didn't compete in the Michigan primary, he needs to build from scratch the kind of political operation he has been assembling for months in other states. He also faces a state party that is sharply polarized, behind schedule and hamstrung by an ill-timed lawsuit.

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