VP Watch

If Barack Obama is superstitious about numbers, bet on a running mate with five letters in their last name, say Joe Biden, Tim Kaine or Chuck Hagel.

Seven of the last 10 winning presidential tickets have featured candidates whose last names contained 10 letters. Of course, all of those winners were Republicans. John McCain would need to find a running mate with a four-letter last name, and there aren't many available on a GOP list headlined by Condi Rice and Jeb Bush, neither of whom seems likely.

Bush/Cheney '04, Bush/Cheney '00, skip Clinton/Gore '96 and Clinton/Gore '92, Bush/Quayle '88 (a 10-letter ticket that lost four years later), Reagan/Bush '84, Reagan/Bush '80, skip Carter/Mondale, Nixon/Agnew '72, Nixon/Agnew '68.

They are the only winning 10-letter tickets other than Polk/Dallas '44 -- 1844. (Remember the slogan 54-40 or Fight? Not if you are living).

In addition to Biden and Kaine, five-letter Democrats include Bob Casey, John Kerry and Wes Clark.